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->».35 



Some 

Colonial Mansions 

AND THOSE WHO LIVED IN THEM 

With Genealogies of the Various 
Famihes Mentioned 

Edited BY THOMAS ALLEN GLENN 

MEMBER OF THE HISTORICAL, GENEALOGICAL AND COLONIAL 
SOCIETIES OF PENNSYLVANIA, ETC. 

I O L UME I 




PHILADELPHIA: Published by HENRY T. 
COATES & COMPANY. mdcccxcviii. 



\c^^ 



/ 



- /o- ; 



Copyright, 1897, by 
HENRY T. COATES & CO. 



^ o 



PREFACE 



When the seventeenth century dawned a remarkable con- 
dition of affairs existed in England and in Europe. At that 
time, writes Edward Arber in his Pilgrim Fathers, "the 
human mind, awakening from the sleep of Feudalism and 
the Dark Ages, fastened on all the problems that are 
inherent to human society— problems which, even at the 
present day, are not half solved. In England, during that 
seventeenth century, men were digging down to the roots 
of things. They were asking, What is the ultimate authority 
in hunfan affairs? Upon what does government rest? and 
for what purpose does it exist? And this clash of opinions 
went on in all branches of human knowledge ahke— in 
polidcs, in science, and in philosophy, as well as in religion.'' 

Green, in his History of the English People, points in 
even stronger terms to the convulsions of society at this 
time. "The work of the sixteenth century," he tells us, 
"had wrecked that tradidon of religion, of knowledge, of 
political and social order which had been accepted without 
question by the Middle Ages. The sudden freedom of the 
mind from these older bonds brought a consciousness of 
power such as had never been felt before ; and the restless 
energy, the universal activity of the Renascence, were but 
outer expressions of the pride, the joy, the amazing self-con- 
fidence with which man welcomed this revelation of the 
energies which had lain slumbering within him." 



t> 



vi PREFACE. 

Out of all this confusion there arose a host of religious 
doctrines, each one clamoring for its rival's life. The con- 
verts to these peculiar views were singularly tenacious of 
their several beliefs, and quite ready to suffer the ultimate 
of martyrdom rather than yield a single inch to the existing 
laws or to their opponent's arguments and persecutions. 
These "followers of the Truth," indeed, appear to have 
taken the same savage delight in suffering, olten without 
reason or purpose, as they did in tormenting those who 
differed with them as to the straightest path to heaven. To 
this social upheaval and chaos of beliefs we owe, in great 
measure, the first substantial settlement of the American 
Plantations. 

When the Church-of-England people began to oppose the 
Puritans in the great valley of the lower Trent, the Puritans 
withdrew to Holland, and came thence to Massachusetts 
Bay. When, during Cromwell's time, the Roundhead abused 
the Churchman, the latter sought refuge in Virginia. Like- 
wise, years later, the persecuted Quaker found a reiuge in 
New Jersey and in Pennsylvania, and the Catholic sought 
religious tolerance in Maryland. Here each brought his 
peculiar tenets, and here they continued to dispute whenever 
they were afforded or could beg an opportunity. 

These pious adventurers were, of course, only the nucleus 
around which the various colonies grew and flourished, but 
their blood is yet dominant and their influence still lelt in 
many places where they landed upon our shores. 

You can trace the Puritan strain in New England ; 
the Huguenot fire in New York, stirring somewhat, at 
times, the solemn Dutch fluid ; the Quaker power in 
conservative Pennsylvania; the Irish element in Maryland; 
and the Cavalier tone in the South. Thus the great mass 
of the American people of to-day, barring the children of 



PREFACE. vii 

recent emigrants, are the outcome of the great poHtical, 
religious, and scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. 
These early settlers, however, were by no means all men of 
wealth, of education, of high moral sensibilities, or of gentle 
birth. The Puritans, perhaps, were not more or less so, as 
a rule, than those of the other Colonies. 

John Alden, made immortal by Longfellow, and commonly 
believed to have been a student who acted as secretary, is 
described as mostly engaged in writing dispatches to Eng- 
land, but is recorded by Bradford as "hired for a cooper at 
Southampton, where the ship [the MayJIozuer'] victualled ; 
and, being a hopeful young man, was much desired ; but 
left to his own liking, to go or stay, when he came here," 
He remained, and married Priscilla Mullins (of Puritan 
maiden fame), whose father, a very clever artisan, died 
upon his arrival at Plymouth. Miles Standish, the best of 
them, and chosen captain after their arrival at Plymouth, 
was but remotely allied to gentle blood, and Bradford was 
a yeoman from Yorkshire. 

The settlers of New Jersey were, for the most part, of 
humble origin, and those of Maryland and parts of Virginia 
equally so, whilst the Dutch in New York were mostly of 
the lesser burgher stock of Holland. 

The Huguenots were not, as popularly supposed, all 
cadets of the house of Valois, but were principally vine- 
dressers from Navarre, Champagne and Brie, and there were 
many thousands in the colonies whose history it might be 
better not to scan too closely if we could. 

It is an assured fact that when the settlements began to 
prosper and labor commenced to be scarce here criminals of 
all classes were dumped by the shipload upon our shores and 
sold for a period of servitude to the planters, from New 
Enorland to the Carolinas. 



viii PREFACE. 

When, as the years rolled by, the demand for laborers 
increased, a drag-net hauled through the slums of London 
served to augment the supply and to continue the enormous 
profits which the owners of the transports were accustomed 
to divide with the officials on both sides of the Atlantic. It 
is quite true, however, that, of the hordes transported, a very 
large percentage had been guilty of no vulgar crime. 

Many were prisoners of war, taken in such rebellions as 
that of Monmouth or the Scottish risings for the house of 
Stuart. Others were unfortunate debtors, suspicious charac- 
ters, or actual political offenders. The certainty of gain 
tempted the abduction of many more. 

But amid all this ruck some men, even at first, reared 
themselves above their fellows and acquired property, posi- 
tion, esteem ; and their descendants, inheriting their abilities, 
continued to influence the affairs of their Colony, and after- 
ward of the United States. 

These men were not always, however, members of the 
original independent religious body which had raised the 
Plantation whereon they lived. Sometimes it was a crafty 
Scotch adventurer with oood old Border blood in his veins ; 
at other times it was a Dutch burgher with a little better busi- 
ness training and more education than his fellows. Yet, 
ao-ain, it was an Enorlish yeoman, some five o-enerations from 
o-entle blood, or a London merchant, unfortunate at home, 
come to try his luck In the Virginia tobacco trade. Then, 
again, there were really many men of gentle birth and college 
education scattered through the Plantations — men who had, 
for religion's sake, and frequendy against the advice of friends 
and kinsmen, left their old home to brave, with a family, 
the wilds of America ; younger sons who could not do worse 
and might do better ; broken-down gendemen assisted here 
by their kinsmen ; soldiers of fortune, clergymen, agents of 



PREFACE. IX 

the g-overnment and of such trachng- corporations as the 
Dutch West India Company. 

These last two classes, the nameless men who fought their 
way out of the press upward, and the adventurer of gentle 
blood and government backing, quickly monopolized all the 
offices of the Colonial governments in which they happened to 
belong, and continued to hold them in the most arbitrary 
manner, succeeded by their children and kinsmen, until the 
Revolution. In some States the influence that these early 
office-holders swayed is still exercised by their descendants. 

It has been said that Magna Charta was a family affair, and 
it is certain that the barons in arms were all nearly related to 
each other. It is equally true that a few allied families 
obtained and retained control of Colonial politics throughout 
the Plantations. 

Whilst it may be held that such a state of affairs ought 
never to have existed or been permitted to continue, yet the 
practice was. perhaps, not only innocuous, but absolutely 
beneficial to many communities. 

It produced a supply of trained men, competent to care 
for the public business ; assisted justice by placing upon the 
bench men of ability and education ; tended materially toward 
the development of literature and art, and encouraged the 
undertaking, by men of means, of enterprises indispensable 
to the growth of a new country. 

When the Revolution broke out it was to the representa- 
tives of these powerful families that the people turned for 
leaders, and in few cases were they disappointed in their 
choice. 

It is of a few such families and the homes which they 
built in the land of their adoption, and which their descend- 
ants continued to occupy generation after generation, that 
this volume will speak. 



X PREFACE. 

These governing families, if we may so call them, were as 
much unlike as were the beginnings of the Colonies which 
they represented. 

The Virginia Cavalier approached nearer to the English 
country gentleman of his time than any other class of 
planters. He was, says Goodwin, "not godly, but manly — 
with a keen enjoyment of a jest, as the pucker at the corners 
of his lips in his portrait clearly shows, with a hearty good- 
will toward his neighbor, and especially his neighbor's wife, 
with a fine, healthy appetite, and a zest for all good things to 
eat and drink." But in justice it must be said that the Vir- 
ginian did make an heroic attempt to be godly as well as 
manly, as his ruined churches, an example of which is Christ 
Church, Lancaster County, Va., built by King Carter, affirm.* 

But to know the old Virginian intimately you must go to 
his ancient home, be greeted by his hospitable descendants, 
eat and drink from his old plate, cultivate an acquaintance 
with his family portraits, and wander amid the ruins of his 
garden. After this you can stroll across the park to his 
family graveyard and try your hand at deciphering the arms 
and inscriptions on his own and kinsmen's tomb. Even then, 
unless you are a Southerner, you will not fully appreciate the 
Virginia Cavalier or understand his methods. 

How different the stern Puritan of stony New England ! 
As well versed in the sins of the flesh as his Southern neigh- 
bor, as the court records of Plymouth Colony show, life to him 
had outwardly few joys, and all his pleasures and domestic 
arrangements were regulated by a nice code of laws, much 

* The editor's attention is called to the fact that a movement is on foot to restore this 
venerable relic of colonial Virt^inia. which, owinsj to its extreme age, has become very much 
out of repair. For this purpose the Christ Church "Restoration Fund" has been started. 
The descendants of King Carter who are interested in the project can address Rev. E. B. 
Burwell, Rector Christ Chinch Pari.sh, Lancaster C. H., Va. For views of the church see 
pages 230, etc. 



PREFACE. xi 

more severe, even in point of religious tolerance, than those 
he left merry England to avoid. 

If the history of a people is to be studied, it must be by 
going into their homes and looking up their family records. 
This is what the writers of the various articles in this work 
have done, and the result is a series of sketches describing 
social life, architecture, art, dress and letters during the 
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the American Plan- 
tations. 

The various portraits were taken, in most cases, from 
the original paintings yet hanging in the old mansions. The 
genealogical tables, which have been added in such a way as 
not to embarrass the text, are from recognized authorities, 
and care has been taken to avoid inaccuracies. They will 
be found useful to the descendants and to biographers and 
historians. 

The writer is under obligation to Mrs. Harrison and Miss 
Ritchie, of Brandon, James River, Va. ; Captain Shirley 
Harrison, of Upper Brandon ; Mrs. Carter and the Misses 
Carter, of Shirley ; Major Samuel W. Stockton, of Morven, 
Princeton, New Jersey ; Colonel and Miss Byrd, of Win-\ 
Chester, Virginia ; Mrs. Massey, of Charlestown, Md. ; and 
Chas. P. Keith, Esq., of Philadelphia, and many others ; — for 
courtesies extended and for valuable assistance and informa- 
tion. 

THOMAS ALLEN GLENN. 

Philadelphia, Nov. i, 1897. 



CONTENTS 

VOLUME I. 



PAGE 

WESTOVER: The Byrd Family 17 

Byrd Genealogy" 54 

MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS 61 

Stockton Genealogy 91 

CEDAR GROVE: Coates-Paschall-Morris Families 97 

Genealogy of SA.\rE 119 

BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS 1^3 

Notes on the Herrmans of Bohemia 137 

THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAE'kS 141 

Van Rensselaer Genealogy 165 

Ru^EWELL : The Page Family 171 

Page Gene.\logy 195 

THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA 217 

Carter Genealogy -S8 

CLERMONT AND THE LI\TNGSTONS 297 

Livingston Genealogy 327 

THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND : Docghoregan Manor 335 

Carroll Genealogy 361 

xiii 



xiv CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

GR^ME PARK: Keith and Gr^me Families 367 

Gr^me Genealogy 396 

BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES: The Harrison Family 401 

Harrison Genealogy 426 

THE RANDOLPHS 433 

Randolph Genealogy 456 




STAIRWAY, ROSEWELL. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

VOLUME I. 



P^GE 



Evelyn Byrd (from portrait at Lower Braiulon} . . Photogravure . . . Frontispiece. 

William Byrd of Westover i8 

Westover (River Front) 21 

Mantel in Parlor 25 

\ViLLL\M Byrd the Immigrant (from miniature in possession of Colonel William 

Byrd of Winchester, Va.) 26 

Old Gateway at Westover 27 

Tomb of Colonel William Byrd 28 - 

Colonel Daniel Parke (from portrait at Lower Brandon) 30 

Fan Carried by Evelyn Byrd 3^ 

Westover (showing servants' quarters) 37 

Book-plate of William Byrd 41 • 

Miss Taylor (sister-in-law of William Byrd) 42 

Tomb of Evelyn Byrd 44 

Elizabeth Carter, First Wife of William Byrd Third (from portrait at 

Shirley) 45 

The Main Gateway at Westover 48 

Old Gate at Westover 50 

The Hall, Westover 51 

Lucy Harrison Byrd (from portrait at Lower Brandon) 52 

Anice Stockton (from ]-)ortrait by Copley) Photogravitre . . Facing 61 

Stockton Arms 61 

MORVEN 67 

Rev. Andrew Hunter 68 

Richard Stockton the Signer (from his portrait by Copley, in possession of the 

family) 75 

Mary Stockton Hunter 82 

Richard Stockton the Second (from his portrait in the L^niversity of New Jersey, 

^'rinceton) 87 

XV 



x\-i LJST OF ILLUSTRATIOXS. 

Cc»cwi>DOC£ Stocktchi {batm a. da^mexxa/ttpe taken JKt befixe his desik) S9 

Ceix\k. GtoVE 106 

PiKijaK. Cedak Grove ... . . 107 

The Gasldes. Cedak. Grote . . 111 

Chamser- Cebak. Grove 113 

KrrcHEX, Cetulk. Grove 116 

Ao^csTiXE Hekjlmax axp His Ho«<£ firvjoi pemak in pogsessioB at Mis. Mie- 

SCT* Pttt^prwswBnr , . . /^a^-imj;- 1:13 

The Tbompsos Arms 125 

Bohemia Masos-the PrEsksx MANor-HocsE . i-5 

AcGCSTlSE Heksmax ^^fimm raedxHioa poRrsit oa B3p> . i rr 

Bohemia. Laxdzs; :i- 

BoSKMiA ROAT : :; 

Lady Herslsian ircci vcnr:.; in pcs^esi-;- ;i Mt^ Mis.>cT 135 

Vax Ressselaer Mansion. Aiisanj. X. Y /~c.v.\-Taracry . . . Jlr.TJcr i-u 

Van Rensselaer Arks (^&q^ a cban^ in HoOand'' ... 1.11 

Tax Van RESSSEiAER mm a painrif^ in Univeisaty oi Xyker"-; 149 

Jeremlas Van Rensselaer i?5 

The Waix-paper at the Manor-hocst . 15- 

The Dol^way at the Man<«.-hocse .... : 5 " 

Stephen Van Rensseuuesu the I_\5T P-\rxo«: n : : 

D«>RWAY IN the Manor-hocse ... . : 

SocoMON Van Ress^xaer . .... ic; 

StaIRVTAT -\T RoSEWTTT - - .P«w«VflfTiBra.-. . /l-.-.'r.- I- 1 

AK>e o«- Page of Bedpcsst lo-on to^» of Fiaacb P^e> .... : " : 

COIOXEL TC^IN F-AvSE .... 175 

RoSErWEEL I-i^- 

BALrsTRAj>E- Second Floc«. Roseweix - ^-" 

MAS.Y Mann -"- 

HoK- Mann P-\cs of Roseweix . . - - 

Old Tombs, Rosevtexi. 

Mann Page. MESi^a. of the OxjfTiNENTAi- Ccis :? 

HoN-JofiN Pace - 1.-3 

KncG Carter (&(mb pomait «t Sl^er^ . ... /i.-r«^ 217 

Carter Arms 217- 

oud christ chr»ch,va- ^^^o 

Christ Chtrch. Va.. Interior .... -^^^ 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xvii 



PAGE 



RoHKKT Carter ok Corotoman (•• King Carter" as a young man) zzb 

Judith Armistead 227 

Old Christ Church, Va., Re.\r View 230 

John Carter ok Corotoman 237 

Miss Williams, Wife of Edward Hill of Shirley 239 

Shirley Dining-room 241 

IIii.L Arms in Hallway' at Shirley 242 

Miss Elizabeth Hill 245 

Shirley, Lower Hall 246 

Shirley. South Front 247 

Shirley Dr.awing-room 248 

CHARLF.S Carter of Shirley 249 

Cleve, King George Co., V.a. 250 

Anne (Butler) Moore, Wife of Charles Carter 251 

Dove-cote in the Fields, Shirley* 252 

Sabine Hall. Richmond Co., Va . 254 

Colonel L.a.ndon Carter 255 

Mrs. L.A.NDON Carter 259 

Shirley, on the J.ames, V.\ Photogravure . . . Facing 261 

Robert Carter of Xomini, the Councillor 263 

Frances Ann Tasker, Wife of Robert C.\rter 265 

C.\rter Silver ^now at Shirley") 267 

Robert Carter, Father of the Councillor 26S 

Priscill.\ Churchill, Mother of the Councillor 269 

Mrs. Colonel Willis 273 

Mrs. Kennon 274 

George Carter of Oatlands 276 

O.vfLANDs 277 

Mrs. George Carter of O.atlands 278 

Shirley Dr.\wing-room, showing Portraits 281 

Carter's Grove, James River Front 283 

Stairway in Main H.all, Carter's Grove 284 

Arch in Second .Story, Carter's Grove 2S5 

Mantel .a.nd Wainscoting in Parlor, Carter's Grove 286 

Livingston Arms (from book-plate) 297 

Robert Livingston, First Town-clerk at Albany 303 

Robert R. Livingston 3°^ 

B 



xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Philip Livingston ^„„ 

y~") 

Chancellor Livingston ,,j 

General Richard Montgomery ti . 

William Livingston, Governor of New Jersey -21 

Sarah Van Brugh Livingston, Wife of John Jay -.22 

Edward Livingston, Mayor of New York -.21; 

The Carroll Chapel, Doughoregan Manor, Md. . Photogravure . . Faciia^ '•-•5 

Carroll Arms -,,r 

o35 

Doughoregan Manor-house ->-j7 

Entrance to Doughoregan 340 

Archbishop Carroll of Maryland 341 

Washington Tree in Doughoregan Park 344 

The Hall of the Manor-house 346 

Charles Carroll of Carrollton 347 

Reception-room of Manor-house 348 

State Chamber (Washington's Room), Doughoregan 349 

St. Charles College, Doughoregan Manor 351 

Mrs. Caton 355 

Harriet Chew, Wife of Charles Carroll the Second 356 

G^yEME Park, near Philadelphia Photograitire . . . Facing 367 

Gr^me Book-plate, 1766 367 

Sir William Keith, Bart 369 

Lady Keith 371 

Vane of Gr.«me Park 373 

Keith's Arms (from seal) 375 

The Hall, Gr^me Park 377 

Fireplace in Hall, Gr.^^me Park 379 

Stairway, Gr/Kme Park 386 

Dr. Thomas Gr^me 388 

" Lifting Stone," Gr^me Park 390 

View near Spring-house, Gr^^me Park • . 392 

Mrs. Benjamin Harrison (from portrait at Lower Brandon) . Photogravure . Facing 401 

The Harrison Cre.st 401 

Lower Brandon 403 

Grove Planted by Mrs. Benjamin Harrison 405 

Bullet-holes in Doorway, Brandon 406 

Brandon Hall and Stairw.\y 407 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



XIX 



Berkeley 

Benjamin Harrison of Brandon 

Tomb of Benjamin Harrison 

DlNING-ROOiM AT BrANDON 

Thomas Ritchie 

Old Tombs at Brandon 

Drawing-room at Brandon 

Silver Plate and Ancient Communion Service 

Miss Randolph of Wilton 

Mantel in Dining-room at Brandon 

Parlor Mantel, Brandon 

Brandon, South P'ront 

Upper Brandon 

General Harrison's Tomb at Wesiover 

I'..CAHONTAS Photogravure 

RxNDOLPH Arms (from seal) 

I'rCKAHOE 

Randolph Graveyard 

Staircase, Tuckahoe 

Peter Randolph .... 



Faci 



Library, Tuckahoe 

Lucy Bolling, Wife of Peter Randolph 

Old School-house which the Randolphs and Jeffersons Attended . 

Mantel at Tuckahoe 

Hall of Tuckahoe 

Bull Hill Farm— the Bland House 

John Randolph of Roanoke 

Cawsons, said to be the House in which John Randolph of Roanoke wa^ 



Born 



PAGB 

• 409 
. 411 
. 412 

• 413 

414 
416 

■ 417 
, 4IS 
419 
420 
421 
422 
423 
424 

4.53 
433 
435 
437 
438 
441 

443 
445 
447 
448 
449 
452 
453 

454 



WE STOVER. 



WESTOVER. 



On the walls of Lower Brandon, on the James, a few 
miles below Richmond, hang two old paintings which possess 
a romantic interest for readers of American history. 

One is the portrait of a young man of about thirty years 
of age, with clear-cut, aristocratic features, smiling mouth, 
dimpled chin of almost womanly beauty, and dark haunting 
eyes under high-arched eyebrows. The curling brown peri- 
wig falls upon well-formed shoulders ; the dress is rich ; and 
the whole bearingr is that of a cultured, hiorh-toned o-entle- 
man, and bon vivant, who yet could be depended upon for 
great deeds when necessity called for them. 

The other is a portrait of a fair young maiden of sweet 
seventeen, whose blue-green dress displays to advantage her 
graceful, girl-like figure. She sits on a green, mossy bank, 
holding in her lap a straw hat wreathed with morning-glories, 
her only adornment a bunch of the same blue flowers in 
her hair, while a stray curl falls coquettishly over her right 

shoulder. 

" Her brow is like the snow-drift ; 
Her throat is like the swan ; 
Her face, it is the fairest 

That e'er the sun shone on." 

On a bough overhead is a red-crested bii'd — a playful 
allusion to the family name, but in keeping with the rural 
character of the picture. There are other and good paint- 
ings on these stately, walls — worthy specimens of the handi- 



WESTOVER. 



work of Sir Godfrey Kneller, Benjamin West, and the elder 
Peale — but none that attract us Hke these. The very 




WILLIAM BYRD OF WESTOVER. 



name of the painter has been lost under the nume- 
rous backings of canvas which the ravages of time have 
rendered necessary, but the artist's soul lives in them, and 



WESTOVER. 19 



as we gaze on these counterfeit presentments of the past, 
we are involuntarily carried back to the clays when the Old 
Dominion was a colony of the British Crown, and "The 
King-, God bless him!" was the standing toast at the wealthy 
planter's table. They are the portraits of Col. William Byrd 
and his daughter Evelyn, and so lifelike are they that it is 
hard to realize that nearly two centuries have passed since 
the hieh-bred ori^^inals "lived and moved and had their 
being," and that the story of their lives is that of a bygone 
age and never-to-return state of society. 

Somewhere about the year 1674, William Byrd, with his 
newly-married wife, left his home in the little town of Broxton 
in the county of Chester in England, and sailed for that new 
world concerning which marvellous tales were being told at 
the firesides of the old country. Though born in London in 
1652, good Cheshire blood flowed in his veins, for he could 
trace his descent from one Hugo le Bird of Charleton in that 
county, whose wife was the daughter and only heir of Roger 
Denville of the same palatinate. Mary, William Byrd's 
young wife, was of good family too, for her father, Col. War- 
ham Horsemanden of Ulcombe, was a Kentish Cavalier, who 
could trace his descent in a direct line to Edward III. The 
young groom had an uncle. Captain Thomas Stegg, formerly 
of his unfortunate Majesty Charles I.'s service, who, disgusted 
at the collapse of the Cavalier cause, shook off the dust of 
Puritan England and emigrated to Virginia, where he died 
just in time to give the worthy young couple a good start in 
life ; and it was his estate that they came out to inherit. 

At the falls of the river James, where is now the city 
of Richmond, stood a small block-house, erected in 1645 to 
protect the settlers from the Indians, and the government 
gladly gave Captain Byrd, as he was now called, a liberal 
grant of land contingent upon his settling there with fifty 



20 WESTOVER. 



able-bodied men to defend the station. On the brow of the 
hill overlooking the site of the present penitentiary he built 
a strongly-fortified house, which he named Belvidere, and, 
having provided a home for his bonnie bride, he built a 
large warehouse where the present Exchange Hotel now 
stands, and a mill on the Shockoe Creek not far away, 
and set up as an Indian trader and planter on a large 
scale. 

Fortune smiled on him from the outset, and indeed never 
left him. His affairs were managed with shrewdness and 
sagacity. He shipped his tobacco to England, and received 
in return cargoes destined for the Barbadoes ; these were ex- 
changed in turn for merchandise more salable in Virginia. 
The magnitude of his transactions may be seen from two con- 
signments. In October, 1686, he obtained from this island 
twelve hundred gallons of rum, five thousand pounds of mus- 
covado sugar, three tons of molasses, two hundred pounds of 
ginger, and one cask of lime-juice, and in x'Xpril, 1688, four 
thousand gallons of rum, five thousand pounds of muscovado, 
one heavy barrel of white sugar, and ten tons of molasses. 
But his business activity was not confined to commercial ven- 
tures, bold as they undoubtedly were. By his correspondence 
we find that as early as 1684 his attention was directed to 
mining. He sent specimens of iron ore to England for exam- 
ination, and personally tested lead ores, using for this purpose 
a charcoal fire and a pair of hand-bellows. He was the owner 
of two grist-mills managed by men whom he had obtained trom 
England, and in 1685 h^ informs an English correspondent 
that he expected in another year to forward to England a 
sample of fiour manufactured on his plantation, his bolting- 
mill at this time not being finished, and the records of Henrico 
county for 1697 show that the millstone in his mill at Flailing 
Creek was valued at /40. In June. 1684, he orders his Lon- 




WESTOVER RIVER-FRONT. 



WES TO I 'ER. 25 



don correspondent to send him four hundred feet of glass, 
with drawn lead and solder in proportion. 

In short, nothing came amiss to this thrifty man of business, 
Midas-like, everything he touched turned to gold, but, unlike 
the unhappy Phrygian king, he had a soul above mere money- 
getting and took enjoyment in other pleasures outside of his 
business. He commenced the famous library which his son 
afterward added to, and we owe to him the precious copy of 
the records of the Virginia Company from April 28, 1619, to 
June 7, 1624, which is now in the Library of Congress at Wash- 
ington. The story of its rescue is worth telling. When the dark 
clouds of royal displeasure were gathering over the devoted 
company the excellent Nicholas Ferrar, one of the directors, 
and Collingvvood, the secretary, arranged to have the records 
secretly transcribed at the house of Sir John Danvers in Chel- 
sea. Collingwood carefully compared each folio and signed 
it, the work being completed only three days before the ob- 
sequious judge carried out the king's mandate and gave judg- 
ment against the company at Trinity Term, 1624, and the 
great corporation which strove for the liberties of the people 
against royal prerogative passed out of existence. The origi- 
nal records from which this copy was made is not now known 
to exist, and were probably impounded and destroyed at the 
time of the rendering of the judgment. This copy, however, 
Collingwood entrusted to the care of the Earl of Southamp- 
ton, from whom it passed to his son Thomas, the lord high 
treasurer, after whose death William Byrd bought them for 
sixty guineas. They were at Westover when Stith was writing 
his History of Virginia, and were used by him. In some unex- 
plained way they passed into the possession of Stith's brother- 
in-law, the famous Peyton Randolph, and at his death, in 1775, 
Thomas Jefferson bought his library, these precious volumes 
included, and from his estate they were bought by the United 



24 WESTOVER. 



States. Acre after acre was added to Byrd's already large 
estate, and he was ere long accounted one of the largest land- 
owners and wealthiest men in the province. As riches accu- 
mulated, so did honors. He was chosen High Sheriff of Hen- 
rico, a member of the House of Burgesses, a Councillor, and 
on Dec. 24, 1687, the king appointed him "Receiver-general 
of His Majesty's revenues for the Colony," a most responsible 
and honorable position, which he held until his death in De- 
cember, 1704, and transmitted to his son. 

In 1688, the Indians having killed one of his servants and 
carried off two others, he purchased of Theodoric and Richard 
Bland, for ^300 sterling and ten thousand pounds of tobacco, 
two thousand acres. This estate was one of the oldest on the 
river, the original patent having been issued to Capt. Thomas 
Pawlett, Jan. 15, 163 1, and had been purchased fropi his brother. 
Sir John Pawlett, in 1665, by the elder Theodoric Bland. On 
this fair domain he proceeded to build the Mansion House 
of Westover, and although, through the carelessness of a 
housekeeper, who had left her posset simmering on a brasier 
of hot coals, it was partially destroyed by fire in 1749, his 
grandson rebuilt it exactly as before, and it stands to-day 
the finest old homestead on the James, and a worthy monu- 
ment of the first of the family name in America. Among 
his orders from England about this time are a bedstead, bed, 
and curtains, a looking-glass, one small and one middling 
oval table, and a dozen Russian leather chairs, evidently lor 
the new house. 

The old-time builders cared more for honest workman- 
ship than meretricious display, and Westover is a substantial 
three-storied mansion, with a colonnade connecting it with 
the kitchen and other outbuildings. Time has subdued the 
red of the brick walls and the black of the steep-slated roof 
into harmony with the deep green of the superb tulip poplars 



WESTOl'ER. 



25 



which sweep the dormer windows of the roof and shield the 
broad fagade from too inquisitive view. A broad, closely- 
trininied lawn which slopes down to the river not one hun- 
dred yards away is bounded on the right and left by fences, 
in which are the great iron 
gates which lead on the 
one hand to the roadway, 
and on the other to the 
wheat-helds which are the 
pride of the James River 
country, while the ave- 
nues from the boat-la nd- 
inor end in smaller crates 

o o 

of hammered iron, in 
which the arms of the 
Byrd family are inter- 
woven, but are almost 
hidden from view by the 
roses and wisteria which 
love to clamber over the 
rusty trellises. Passing 
throuorh the old-fashioned 
doorway, with its curious 
stone steps under the 

shadow of an enormous oak which dates back to pre-colonial 
times, the visitor enters an elaborately carved and panelled 
hall, about ten feet in width, runninof throusfh the house. On 
the right of the hall is the parlor, heavily wainscoted and with 
ornamental cornices of great beauty. But the feature of the 
room is the chimney-piece imported from Italy for Col. Byrd 
with its white marble pediment and borders, contrasting 
grandly with the background of black-veined marble. The 
grate and the bracketted lamps are modern ; more's the pity. 




MANTEL IN PARLOR. 



26 



WESTOVER. 



On the left of the hall are the library and the dining-room, 
the former of which is very handsome. A noble staircase 
with carved newel-posts leads to the upper apartments, 
which are decorated with the same elegance as those on 
the ground floor. In fact, nearly every portion of the house 
gives proof of the wealth and taste of the founders. Look- 
ing through the hall-door in the rear always open in summer 
weather one sees the lofty gateway, the brick pillars of which 
are about ten feet high and are each surmounted with a 
mardet — the family crest. The gates are of hammered iron 
made in England, and over them is the monogram of Col. 
William Byrd the third and his wife Elizabeth. They open 
into a paddock for the exercise of the horses in the stables 

on the right of the house, 
while beyond, at a distance 
and separated from the pad- 
dock by extensive grain- 
fields, is an old ruined 
gateway of which only the 
vX two stone columns are now 
. y standing. In a grove of 
■ H fine old trees almost a 
quarter of a mile north of 
the house, and near the 
bank of the river, is the 
family graveyard, and here, 
beneath old tombs covered 
with inscripdons and coats- 
of-arms, repose the remains 
of Capt. William Byrd the 
immigrant and Mary his 
wife. Col. William Byrd the second and Evelyn Byrd his 
daughter, Theodric Bland, Benjamin Harrison of Berkeley, 




WILLIAM HYRO, THF. IMMIGRANT. 



WESTOVER. 



27 



father of the Signer, Mrs. Harrison, Rev. Charles Anderson, 
Col. Walter Aston, and others. 

Such is Westover to-day. In the elder Byrd's time it 
was probably the finest mansion-house in Virginia, and 
typical of the fortunes of the brave young Cheshire immi- 




OLD GATEWAY AT WESTOVER. 



grant who had come to the couptry poor and friendless, and 
had amassed a fortune by his business tact and industry. 

He was buried near his wife in the old cemetery at West- 
over, and the inscription on his tomb records : 

Hie reconduntur cineres Gvlielmi 

BvKD Armigeri regii hujus 

Provincice quaestoris qui banc vitam 

Cum Eternitate commutavit 4"^ Die 

Decembris 1704 post quam vixifset 

52 Annos. 

He left a son and two daughters to mourn his loss ; viz. : 
Ursula, who married Robert Beverley, and had a son, Wil- 



28 



U'ESTOVER. 



Ham Beverley of Essex, Va., and Susan, who was educated in 
England and married there John Brayne of London. 

The heir to the vast estate was his son, Col. William Byrd 
of Westover, the second of the name, who was born March 28, 




TOMB OF COL. WILLIAM ]iVRD. 



1674, and whose portrait hangs on the walls of Lower Bran- 
don. Well might he have claimed to have been born in the 
purple. His father had spared no expense in his education, 
and, as was the custom in those days with the sons of gentle- 
men of ample fortunes, he was sent to England to perfect his 
education there. The story of his life is recorded on his monu- 
ment, which is in the old-fashioned flower-garden in the rear of 
the Mansion. The following is the inscription — on the front : 



WESTOVER. 29 



Here lyeth 
the Honourable William Byrd Esqr. 
Being born to one of the amplest fortunes in this country he was sent earl)^ 
to England for his education : where under the care and instruction of 
Sir Robert Southwell and ever favored with his particular instructions 
he made a happy proficiency in polite and various learning : by the 
means of the same noble friend he was introduced to the acquaintance 
of many of the first persons of that age for knowledge, wit, virtue, birth, 
or high station, and particularly attracted a most close and bosom friend- 
ship with the learned and illustrious Charles Boyle Earl of Orrery. He 
was called to the bar in the Middle Temple, studied for some time in 
the low countries visited the court of France and was chosen Fellow of 
the Royal Society. 

On the other side : 

Thus eminently fitted for the service and ornament of his country, he was 
made Receiver general of his Majesty's revenues here, was thrice 
appointed publick agent to the Court and ministry of England, and 
being thirty-seven years a member at last became President of the Coun- 
cil of this Colony to all this were added a great elegancy of taste and 
life, the well-bred gentleman and polite companion the splendid Oecon- 
omist and prudent father of a family with the constant enemy of all 
exhorbitant power and hearty friend to the liberties of his Country, 
Nat: Mar. 28. 1674 Mort. Aug. 26. 1744 An. yEtat 70. 

At the time of his father's death he was about thirty years 
of age, rich, handsome, witty, and influential, the beau-ideal 
of the colonial Cavalier. At least so thought the fair Lucy 
Parke, whom he married in i 706. She was the daughter of 
Marlborough's lucky aide-de-camp, who brought the news ot 
the great victory of Blenheim to Queen Anne, and was so 
bounteously rewarded for the glad tidings. Her eldest sister, 
Frances, the year before had married Col. John Custis, the 
ancestor of Martha Washington's first husband, and hence it 
is that one of Sir Godfrey Kneller's portraits of Col. Daniel 
Parke hanofs in the dininor-room of Brandon, while its counter- 
part is at Gen. Custis Lee's house at Lexington, and whence 



30 



WESTOVER. 



also Washington's adopted son, George Washington Parke 
Custis, derives his name. 




ANIEL PARKE. 



Life was merry in the Old Dominion in the old Colonial 
days, especially when the possessor was the lord of at least 
one hundred thousand of the best acres in America, with 



WESTOVER. 31 



an army of slaves to cultivate them ; and the young master 
of Westover enjoyed it to the full. Coaches and six, costly 
wines, silk stockings, and hair-powder, were necessary to the 
rich Virginia planter's existence, and social etiquette was 
even more rigid and formal in the New World than in the 
Old. But Col. Byrd was more than a mere man of the world, 
and read books as well as rode to hounds. His library, which 
was commenced by his father, was the finest private collection 
in America : the catalogue, which is now in possession of Mr, 
R. A. Hrock of Richmond, Ya., enumerates 3625 volumes, which, 
according to a recent statement of Dr. Lyman C. Draper, might 
be classified as follows : History, 700 volumes ; Classics, etc., 
650; French, 550; Law, 350; Divinity, 300; Scientific, 225; 
Physic, 200; Entertaining, etc., 650. A volume of " Noveau 
Voyages aux Isles de I'Amerique " with his book-plate in it 
is in my possession and lies before me on my library table 
as I write. The famous Westover manuscripts, written for 
private perusal and which have only been reprinted in this 
century, prove him to have been one of the brightest intellects 
of his age. His office as " Receiver-general of the Revenue " 
was no sinecure, and in addition for thirty-seven years he was 
a member of the " King's Council," the latter portion of which 
he presided over its deliberations. Public-spirited, talented, 
and energetic, he more than filled his father's place, and even in 
his youthful prime became one of the most trusted and influ- 
ential men in the community. In his domestic relations he 
was equally fortunate, and it needed but the birth of a daugh- 
ter, Evelyn, in 1707, to fill his cup of blessings to the lull. 
Five years of this idyllic life passed all too rapidly away, 
when the shadow of that five years' separation, which was but 
the presage of the sadder separation that was to be for ever, 
suddenly burst upon the happy young couple. Col. P)yrd's 
father-in-law had finally been rewarded for his assiduous 



32 WESTOVER. 



devotion to Court dignitaries by his appointment as governor 
of the Leeward Islands, where he so administered affairs that 
the inhabitants rose in rebellion and cruelly murdered him at 
Antigua, December 7, 1710, plundered his house, and robbed 
his estate of money, plate, jewels, and household goods to the 
value of many thousand pounds sterling. To the indignation 
of his family, it was found that he had willed all of his fortune 
in the Leeward Islands, which was considerable, to an ille- 
gitimate daughter on the condition "that she should take his 
name and coat-of-arms." Col. Byrd sailed for England to pro- 
tect the interest of the true heirs and to secure compensation 
from the government for the property destroyed by the rebels 
at Antigua. A long and tedious lawsuit followed. On the 21st 
of January, 1715, Col. Byrd writes to Col. Custis, from London: 
" 'Tis a singular pleasure to hear by my brigantine of my 
dear brother's recovery from so sharp and tedious an illness. 
I long to be with you, for this place, that used to have so 
many charms, is very tasteless, and, though my person is 
here, my heart is in Virginia. My affairs succeed well 
enough, but all solicitation goes on ver}' slowly by reason 
that the ministry is taken up with the Rebellion, which is still 
as flagrant as ever in Scotland, and my patron, the Duke of 
Argyle, commands there against them. I am in perfect peace 
with all concerned in debts clue from Col. Parke. I have paid 
the most importunate, and allow interest for the bonds I cannot 
yet discharge, and should be very easy if I could get the interest 
of his custom-house debt remitted, which I do not yet despair 
of I wish my dear brother a full confirmation of his health. 
If he has the courage to venture upon another wife, I hope he 
will be more easy in his second choice than he was in his first. 
"I am, with most entire affection, dear brother, 
"Your most obedient servant, 

"W. Byrd." 



WESTOVER. 33 



But money must have been as potent in politics in those 
days as it is now. On the 2d of October, 17 16, Col. Byrd 
writes to Col. Custis : 

" It is a great pleasure to you, as to many others, that Mr. 
Roscow has been made receiver-general. I confess, if I had 
given away the place, it is likely Mr. Roscow is not the per- 
son in the world I should soonest have given it to, but if 
you put the case that I sold it, you would not wonder that I 
should dispose of it to so fair a bidder as he was ; and, indeed, 
I fancy there are not many would have given ^500 for 
it. Besides, it is not an easy matter to transfer an office 
depending upon the treasury ; and if I should have taken 
so much time as to send over to Virginia to treat with any 
person there, I might have slipt my opportunity and lost my 
market. This being the case, you will cease to wonder at 
the matter. The kind visit which my wife has made me will 
be the occasion of my staying here another winter, that so 
she may see this town in all its glory ; and I am the more 
content to tarry, because the lieutenant-governor has sent 
over a spiteful complaint against me and Col. Ludwell, which 
it concerns me to answer. I assure you that it was not my 
apprehension of being removed by any complaint that might 
be formed against me that made me resii^n ; but such an 
office as that of receiver-general of the king's revenue makes 
a man liable to be ill-treated by a governor, under the notion 
of advancing his majesty's interest, by which pious pretence 
he may heap insupportable trouble upon that officer if he 
should have the spirit to oppose his will and pleasure — he 
must either be a slave to his humor, must fawn upon him, and 
jump over a stick whenever he is bid, or else he must have so 
much trouble loaded upon him as to make his place uneasy. 
In short, such a man must either be the governor's dog or his 
ass ; neither of which stations suit in the least with my con- 



34 WESTOVER 



stitution. For this reason I resolved to make the most of it 
by surrendering to any one that would come up to my price, 
well knowing that my interest in the treasury was sufficient 
to do it, and now I am at full liberty to oppose every design 
that may seem to be arbitrary or unjust. The current news 
which you had of my being governor of the Leeward Islands, 
expresses very naturally the genius of our country for inven- 
tion. I protest to you it never once entered into my head to 
sue for that government. 

" God in heaven bless you and your two little cherubs, to 
whom I wish all happiness, being your most affectionate brother, 

"\V. BVRD." 

Toward the close of 1716, Col. Byrd writes to Col. Custis: 

" Mv daughter, Evelyn, has arrived safe, thank God. and 
I hope I shall manage her in such a manner that she may be 
no discredit to her country." 

And now, happy once more in the society ol his wife and 
little daughter, he looked forward joyfully to the termination 
of his labors in the old country- and a speedy return to the 
new. But. alas ! such was not to be. 

On the 13th of December, 1716, Col, Byrd writes to Col. 
Custis as follows : 

"When I wrote last I little expected that I should be 
forced to tell you the very melancholy news of my dear 
Lucy's death, by the very same, cruel distemper that destroyed 
her sister. She was taken with an insupportable pain in her 
head. The doctor soon discovered her ailment to be the 
small-pox, and we thought it best to tell her the danger. She 
received the news without the least fright, and was persuaded 
she would live until the day she died, which happened in 
twelve hours from the time she was taken. Gracious God ! 
what pains did she take to make a voyage hither to seek a 



WE STOVER. 35 



grave. No stranger ever met with more respect in a strange 
country than she had done here, from many persons of dis- 
tinction, who all pronounced her an honor to Virginia. Alas ! 
how proud was I of her, and how severely am I punished for 
it ! But I can dwell no longer on so afflicting a subject, much 
less can I think of anything else, therefore, I can only recom- 
mend myself to )our pity, and am as much as any one can 
be, dear brother, your most affectionate and humble servant, 

"W. BVRD." 

Evelyn Byrd was only nine years of age when her 
mother died, and was now more than ever her father's com- 
fort and idol. She was most carefully educated by the best 
instructors in England, as became a lady of fashion, and her 
father's hope that he "should manage her in such a manner 
that she should be no discredit to her country" was fully 
realized. As she grew into womanhood her beauty became 
famous, and at sixteen she was presented at Court. The 
carved ivory fan she carried is now in the possession of Miss 
Harrison of Brandon. On meetingf Lord Chatham, that states- 
man remarked that "he no longer wondered w^hy young gen- 
tlemen w^ere so fond of going to Virginia to study ornithology, 
since such beautiful Byrds were there." The fashionable leader 
of society was the earl of Peterborough, famous, w^itty, accom- 
plished, and dissolute, and an improbable tradition has it that 
this pure young girl of sixteen was actually engaged to the 
worn-out roiic of sixty-odd years, and that because her father 
iorbade the match she never married and eventually died of a 
broken heart. 

In 1724 Col. Byrd married Maria, eldest daughter and one 
of the co-heiresses of Thomas Taylor of Kensington, a charm- 
ing young widow of about twenty-eight years of age ; and in 
1726 he returned to America, where the old manner of livine 



^6 



WES TO I EJ^. 



was taken up again. The apostolic injunction to "use hospi- 

talitv without orudgino- "' was certainly obeyed b\" the genial 
host and his lo\ ely wife and daughter, and the stately halls of 
W'estover were thronoed with the "First Families of X'irginia." 




IAN CAKKUP i;V fVElYN V-VKP 



At home, as abroad, Evelyn had many admirers, and her uncle. 
Col. lohn Custis. coveted the fair tlower for his son. Daniel 
Parke Custis. a voung man of large fortune, handsome person, 
and irreproachable character. Col. Hyrd was inclined to the 
match, but Cupid's ways are inscrutable, and parents' well- 
laid plans "gang aft aglev." Daniel married the beautiful 
Martha Pandridge. known to atter-fame as Martha Washing- 
ton, and Miss l^\el\n remained Miss l{\el\n to the end of 
the chapter. 

Init Col. Hvrd's attentions were not contined to social amen- 
ities, bor thirty-seven years he served as a member of the 
House of Inirgesses : and. aristocrat that he was. it contained 
no sturdier defender of the liberties o\ the New World. "C'>ur 




WESTOVER, SllOWINt,; SIKVAMS (^iLAKlKK 



WESTO I 'ER. 39 



Government, too, is so happily constituted," he writes to Mr. 
Beckford, "that a governor must first outwit us before he can 
oppress us. And if he ever squeeze money out of us, he 
must first take care to deserve it." And as his lordly coach- 
and-six with its liveried servants and outriders rolled almost 
daily into Williamsburgh, the gaping on-lookers felt that the 
magnificent President of the Council was "a constant enemy 
of all exhorbitant power and hearty friend to the liberties of 
his country," as stated on his tomb. In 1728 he was appointed 
one- of the commissioners for the running of the boundary- 
line between North Carolina and Virmnia, which had lone 
been in dispute between the two colonies : the report of 
this journey, together with one to the mines in 1732 and 
one to the "Land of Eden" in 1733, are comprised in the 
Westover Manuscripts, which were originally intended only 
for private reading in his own family, but which have proved 
so enjoyable that several editions have been published. The 
original manuscripts have been carefully preserved, and are 
in the possession of the Harrison family of Brandon. How 
they came there will be seen by this statement of the widow 
of Mr. George E. Harrison : 

"This nianuscript was the production of the second Col. 
William Byrd of Westover, who, for his rare wit, learning, 
and wisdom, was styled the 'black swan of the family.' It 
descended to his son, another Col. William Byrd, who married 
Miss Mary Willing of Philadelphia. She presented this book 
to George Evelyn Harrison, the son of her daughter Evelyn, 
who had married Mr. Benjamin Harrison of Brandon." 

The style of these narratives has received the highest 
praise, and has given Col. Byrd a reputation which has been 
equalled by few of the writers of his time. The discomforts 
encountered on the journeys are narrated in such a vivid 
and lively style as to make the book interesting reading even 



40 WESTOVER. 



among the changed circumstances of to-day. As an evidence 
of what this man of fashion and refinement cheerfully under- 
went in this expedition, witness this extract, narrating one 
day's experience (March 12, 1728): 

"Everything had been so soaked with the rain, that we 
were obliged to lie by a good part of the morning and dry 
them. However, that time was not lost, because it rave the 
surveyors an opportunity of platting off their work and tak- 
ing the course of the river. It likewise helped to recruit the 
spirits of the men, who had been a little harassed with yester- 
day's march. Notwithstanding all this, we crossed the river 
before noon, and advanced our line three miles. It was not 
possible to make more of it, by reason good part of the way 
was either marsh or pocoson. The line cut two or three 
plantations, leaving part of them in Virginia, and part of them 
in Carolina. This was a case that happened frequently, to 
the great inconvenience to the owners, who were therefore 
obliged to take out two patents and pay for a new survey in 
each government. In the evening, we took up our quarters 
in Mr: Ballance's pasture, a little above the bridge built over 
Northwest River. There we discharged the two periaugas, 
which in truth had been very serviceable in transporting us 
over the many waters in that dirty and difficult part of our 
business. Our landlord had a tolerable good house and 
clean furniture, and yet we could not be tempted to lodge in 
it. We chose rather to lie in the open field, for fear of grow- 
ing too tender. A clear sky, spangled with stars, was our 
canopy, which, being the last thing we saw before we fell 
asleep, gave us magnificent dreams. The truth of it is, we 
took so much pleasure in that natural kind of lodging, that I 
think at the foot of the account mankind are great losers 
by the luxury of feather beds and warm apartments. The 
curiosity of beholding so new and withal so sweet a method 



WESTOVER. 



41 



of encamping, brought one of the senators from North Caro- 
hna to make us a midnight visit. But he was so very clamor- 
ous in his commendations of it, that the sentinel, not seeing 
his quality, either through his habit or behavior, had like to 
have treated him roughly. After excusing the unseasonable- 
ness ol his visit, and letting us know he was a parliament 
man, he swore he was so taken with our lodging, that he 
would set fire to his house as soon as he got home, and teach 
his wife and children to lie, like us, in the open field." 

That a man who is 
described on his tomb- 
stone as "a splendid 
oeconomistand prudent 
father of a family, with 
the constant enemy of 
all exhorbitant power 
and hearty friend to 
the liberties of his coun- 
try," was a kind mas- 
ter goes without say- 
ing. In his letter to 
Mr. Beckford, before 
quoted, he says : " Our 
negroes are not so nu- 
merous or so enter- 
prising as to give us 
any apprehension or 
uneasiness, nor indeed 

is their labour any other than gardening, and less by far than 
what the poor people of other countrys undergo. Nor are 
any crueltys exercised upon them, unless by great accident 
they happen to fall into the hands of a brute, who always passes 
here for a monster." He was an enterprising agriculturist. 




BOOK-PLATE OF WILLIAM 13YRI). 



42 WESTOVER. 



Sir Jacob Ackworth's "darling project of growing hemp in 
Virginia " received his earnest co-operation, and the sunny 




MISS TAYLOR, SISTER-IN-LAW OF WILLIAM liYRD OF WESTOVER. 

slopes of Westover were the scene of numerous experiments 
in vine-growing and tree-planting, and the old garden behind 



WESTOVER. 43 



the house made many attempts to be a gracious stepmother 
to the various fruits and Howers sent out by his orders from 
England. He interested himself in developing the mineral 
resources of the country, and in 1732 he made a visit to Gov- 
ernor Spotswood's mines at Germanna on the Rapidan, which 
is so delightfully described in the Westover Manuscripts. 
The following year he made a visit to his tract of 20,000 acres 
in North Carolina, which he quaintly styled a visit to the Land 
of Eden in the Westover Manuscripts aforesaid. Having 
explored and surveyed this tract, he opened it to immigration, 
offering it on very favorable terms to actual settlers, especially 
those from Germany and Switzerland. It was on this eventful 
journey that he conceived the idea of founding Richmond and 
Petersburg, for we read under date of Sept. 19, 1733, the fol- 
lowing: "When we got home we laid the foundations of two 
larofe cities, one at Shacco's, to be called Richmond, and the 
other at the point of Appomattox River, to be named Peters- 
burg. These Major Mayo offered to layout into lots without 
fee or reward. The truth of it is, these two places, being the 
uppermost landing of James and Appomattox rivers, are 
naturally intended for marts where the traffic of the outer 
inhabitants must centre. Thus we did not build castles only, 
but also cities in the air." And indeed he " builded wiser 
than he knew." Richmond was laid out in April, 1737, by 
Major Thomas Mayo, whose descendants have thus been iden- 
tified with the city from its inception ; in five short years the 
little settlement was a town, in 1779 the capital of the State, 
and in 1782 it branched out into a full-fledged city "of no 
mean reputation." Petersburg has been hardly less success- 
ful, and the city of Manchester, opposite Richmond, was also 
built upon land belonging to Col. Byrd's estate. 

The death of his daughter Evelyn, Nov. 13, 1737, was a 
great blow to her doting father, and though other sons and 



44 



WESTOVER. 



daughters "rose up to comfort him," there were none Hke 
Evelyn, the beautiful pledge of his early love. 




TOMB OF EVELYN I'.YRD. 



But his long and active life was near its close, and on 
the 26th of August, 1744, at his own loved Westover, passed 
away one of whom it could well be said — 

" And thus he bore without abuse 
The grand old name of gentleman." 

He left a widow (b. Nov. 10, 1698, d. April 20. 1771) and 
six children, viz. : i. Wilhemina (only surviving daughter by 
his first wife), who had married Thomas Chamberlayne ; 2. 
Parke (b. 1709) ; 3. Anne (b. 1725), married Charles Carter; 
4. Maria (b. 1727), married Landon Carter; 5. Col. \\'illiam 
Byrd the third (b. 1728, d. 1777) ; '6. Jane (b. 1727), married 
John Page of Rosewell. 




ELIZAIiETH CARTER HYRD, FIRS I WHE OK WILLIAM liYRlJ THE THIRD. 



46 WESTOVER. 



William Byrd, the third of the name, the heir to this vast 
estate, was born at Westover, Sept. 6, 1728, and was only six- 
teen when his father died. He inherited much of his father's 
ability and bonhommie, and followed naturally in his footsteps, 
but had not the advantag-es of a foreign education that his 
father enjoyed, and did not attain to his intellectual distinction. 
Nevertheless, he was one of the most accomplished men in the 
province, and took an active interest in public affairs. In the 
fall of 1755 he and Peter Randolph were appointed by the 
governor to visit and conciliate the Cherokees and other 
Indian tribes in Southern Virginia. They returned in May of 
the following year with a satisfactory treaty. In 1758 he was 
colonel of one of the two regiments of Virginia militia, Wash- 
ington commanding the other, which accompanied General 
Forbes in his expedition against Fort Duquesne, and enjoyed 
the esteem and friendship of his great compatriot. Like his 
father, he was a member of the House of Burgesses and pres- 
ident of the council until Lord Dunmore, the worst of the 
royal governors, failing in all his attempts to save Virginia to 
the Crown, fled on board the British war-vessels at Norfolk, 
and the Old Dominion became one of the "thirteen free and 
independent States " of America, and the governor's council 
adjourned sine die. Col. Byrd must have died soon after 
the commencement of the Revolutionary War, as his name 
does not appear among the participants in that eventful 
struggle. Inheriting as he did many of the characteristics of 
his distinguished father, he was not blessed with that of being 
" a splendid ceconomist and prudent father." His convivial 
qualities and love of the card-table made sad inroads upon his 
splendid inheritance, and at his death his affairs were found 
to be in great confusion. He was twice married — in 1748 
to Elizabeth, daughter of John Carter of Shirley, who died in 
1760, and again on January 29, 1761, to Mary, daughter of 



WESTO VER. 47 



Charles and Anne (Shippen) Willing of Philadelphia (b. 1740, 
d. 1814). 

Hidierto, aldiough the proprietors had been military men, 
Westover had known nothing of the realities of war ; but now 
she was to become associated with the memory of two great 
wars, although never experiencing the storm and fury of 
actual warfare. 

About the 20th of December, 1780, the traitor Arnold, 
raging with fury against his former compatriots, sailed from 
New York, and, entering Hampton Roads at the close of the 
year, pushed up the James River to Jamestown, where he an- 
chored and proceeded in small boats to Westover. Here he 
landed with about nine hundred men, and prepared to march 
on Richmond. It was during this expedition that Arnold in- 
quired of a captain of the patriot army w^ho haci been taken 
prisoner, "What would be my fate if I should be taken pris- 
oner ? " — " They will cut off," boldly replied the captain, " that 
shortened leg of yours, wounded at Quebec and at Saratoga, 
and bury it with all the honors of war, and then hang the rest 
of you on a gibbet." The expedition from a military point of 
view was not a success, as, excepting for the destruction of 
public and private property in Richmond and the neighbor- 
hood, and alarming Governor Jefferson, it accomplished noth- 
ing. To Mrs. Byrd, however, it was disastrous, as public 
opinion assigned her relationship to Arnold's wife as the cause 
of his landing there. Chastellux in his Travels says : 

"We set out from Richmond April 27, 1782, under the 
escort of Col. Harrison, who accompanied us to a road from 
which it was impossible to go astray. We travelled six-and- 
twenty miles without halting, in very hot weather, but by a 
very agreeable road, with magnificent houses in view at every 
instant, for the banks of James River form the garden of Vir- 
ginia. That of Mrs. Byrd, to which I was going, surpasses 



48 



WESTOVER. 



them all in the magnificence of the buildings, the beauty of 
its situation, and the pleasures of society. Mrs. Byrd is the 
widow of a colonel who served in the war of 1756, and was 
afterward one of the council under the British government. 
His talents, his personal qualities, and his riches, for he pos- 




THE MAIN GATEWAY AT WKSTliVER. 



sessed an immense territory, rendered him one of the prin- 
cipal personages of the country ; but, being a spendthrift and 
a gambler, he left his affairs, at his death, in very great dis- 
order. He had four children by his first wife, who were 
already setded in the world, and has left eight by his second, 
of whom the widow takes care. She has preserved his beau- 
dful house, situated on James River, a large personal prop- 
erty, a considerable number of slaves, and some plantations 



WESTOVER. 49 



which she has rendered vakiable. She is about tvvo-and-forty, 
with an agreeable countenance and orreat sense. Four of her 
eight children are daughters, two of whom are near twenty, 
and they are all amiable and well educated. Her care and 
activity have in some measure repaired the effects of her hus- 
band's dissipation, and her house is still the most celebrated 
and the most agreeable of the neighborhood. She has expe- 
rienced, however, fresh misfortunes : three times have the 
Enoflish landed at Westover under Arnold and Cornwallis ; 
and, though these visits cost her dear, her husband's former 
attachment to Enofland, where his eldest son is now servinof 
in the army, her relationship with Arnold, whose cousin- 
german (by marriage, cousin of Mrs. Arnold's mother) she 
is, and perhaps too the jealousy of her neighbors, have given 
birth to suspicions that war alone was not the object which 
induced the English always to make their descents at her 
habitation. She has been accused even of connivance with 
them, and the government have once put their seal upon her 
papers ; but she has braved the tempest, and defended herself 
with firmness ; and, though her affair be not yet terminated, 
it does not appear as if she was likely to suffer any other 
inconveniences than that of being disturbed and suspected. 
Her two eldest daughters passed the last winter at Wil- 
liamsburgh, where they were greatly complimented by M. 
de Rochambeau and the whole army. I had also received 
them in the best manner I could, and received the thanks of 
Mrs. Byrd, with a pressing invitation to come and see her. I 

found myself in consequence quite at home Mrs. Byrd, 

who has a numerous family to provide for, cannot carry her 
philosophy so far, but she takes great care of her negroes, 
makes them as happy as their situation will admit, and serves 
them herself as a doctor in time of sickness. She has even 
made some interesting discoveries on the disorders incident 



50 



WESTOVER. 



to them, and discovered a very salutary method of treating a 
sort of putrid fever which carries them off commonly in a few 




OLD C.ATE AT \\IMii\I.K 



days, and against which the physicians of the country have 
exerted themselves without success." 

After the death of Mrs. Mary Willing Byrd the inevitable 
family breaking up occurred, and the "lares and penates " 
were carried to other abodes. The marriages of Anne, 
Maria, and Jane to Col. Charles Carter of Cleve, Col. Lan- 
don Carter of Sabine Hall, and John Page of Rosewell, re- 
spectively, merged the family name into those lines, and that 
of their niece, Evelyn Taylor Byrd, to Benjamin Harrison 



WESTOl^ER. 



51 



hung- the family portraits on the walls of Lower Brandon and 
made a home for the " Westover Manuscripts " there. Other 
daughters of the house of Byrd became the ancestresses of 
many well-known Virginia families. Maria Horsemanden, the 




THE HALL, WESTOVER. 



second Evelyn's sister, became the wife of another John Page, 
while another sister, Abigail, famed for her wit and beauty, 
and familiarly called " Abby " by the family (b. 1767), became 
the second wife of Major Nelson Page of the Continental line. 
Yet another daughter of the third Colonel Byrd, Jane (b. 
1773), married Carter Harrison of May cox, but it is said she 
left no children. 

Of the sons of the Westover family we have a pretty clear 



52 WE STOVER. 



account. Of the descendants of Thomas Taylor Byrd, son of 
the third colonel of that famous name, a very full genealogy 
will be found in the charts which accompany this article. His 




LUCY HARRISON BYRD, DAUGHTER OF BENJAMIN HARRISON OF BRANDON, MARRIED 
RICHARD EVELYN BYRD, SON OF THOMAS TAYLOR BYRD. 

wife was Mary, daughter of William Armistead of Hesse, de 
scended from an old Virginia race. Of their children we may 
mention here John Byrd, a distinguished officer in the War of 
1812 ; Colonel Francis Otway Byrd (b. 1788, d. i860), who 
served with great distinction at Tripoli in 1805 ; he had by his 



WESTOVER. ^- 53 



wife, Eliza Pleasants, several children. Another son was 
Colonel Richard Evelyn Byrd of Winchester (b. 1800), who 
was a gallant officer on the staff of General Corse in the 
Confederate army ; his wife was Lucy Harrison of Brandon. 
Francis Otway Byrd (b, 1756), son of the third Colonel Wil- 
liam, served with great distinction in the Continental army ; 
he married Anne Ursula, dauo-hter of Colonel Robert Mun- 
ford of Richland, and had several children. 

Other descendants of this famous old Virginia family are 
scattered through the United States ; a branch reside in 
Lynchburg, Va., and another in Wilmington, Del. 

Strangers live in halls where the first Evelyn once danced 
the stately minuet and the " black swan " dictated to his secre- 
tary the Westover Manuscripts. But the famous old mansion 
has not been permitted to sink out of history, and thousands 
of blue-coated veterans, who never heard of the "splendid 
oeconomist" and his lovely daughter, read their epitaphs in 
the little family graveyard in the rear of the old mansion. 
When, after the bloody Seven Days' Fight the Army of the 
Potomac retired to Harrison's Landing in the pursuance of 
McClellan's famous "change of base," Fitz John Porter's 
corps encamped in the wheat fields of Westover and occu- 
pied the old mansion as the division headquarters. At that 
time the place belonged to Mr. John Seldon ; it is now owned 
by Major A. H. Drewry, the vice-president of the steamboat 
company which own the steamboats that daily run between 

Norfolk and Richmond. 

Henry T. Coates. 

Note. — After this article was written it was discovered that the Byrd family Bible, 
now in possession of Colonel Byrd of Winchester, gives the birth of the second Colonel 
William Byrd of Westover as lo March, 1674, whilst it is given on his tombstone as 24 
March, 1674. It has been thought best not to change text or charts, but to let the conflict- 
ing statements be settled by future research. Copies of the entry in the Bible were kindly 
furnislied the editor by Miss Byrd of Winchester. 



54 



WE STOVER. 






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.MOR\EN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



" Permit me to thank you, in the most affectionate manner, for the kind 

wishes you have so happily expressed for me and the partner of all my 

domestic enjoyments. Be assured, we can never forget our friend at 

Morven.'' 

George Washington. 
To Mrs. Stockton, 1783. 

William Spohn Baker, in his Itinerary of General Wash- 
ington, informs us that 
from the 25th of August 
until the 9th day of No- 
vember, 1783, the com- 
mander-in-chief of the 
Continental Army main- 
tained head-quarters at 
the residence of Judge 
Berrien at Rocky Hill, a 
hamlet lying about four 
miles out of Princeton, 
jin the Jerseys. This 
[house, the last head- 
! quarters of the Revo- 
lution, is still standing 
I upon an eminence at a 
little distance from the 
Millstone River. 

It was durinor these 

I . 

I months of his stay at Rocky Hill that Washington, sum- 
moned almost daily to Princeton, where Congress was then 
convened, was often entertained at Morven by the sprightly 

61 




STOCKTON ARMS. 



62 MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 

and accomplished Mrs. Stockton, sister to Elias Boudinot, the 
then President of Congress, and widow of Richard Stock- 
ton, a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, This, how- 
ever, was not Washington's first or last acquaintance with 
Morven. It had served as his head-quarters during the night 
of August 28th, 1 78 1, nine days after he had set out from 
Phillipsburg, New York, in full confidence, and, to use his 
own words, "with a common blessing," of capturing Lord 
Cornwallis and his army. How the news of the success at 
Yorktown of this campaign was received at the old Stockton 
homestead is told in the following hitherto unpublished letter,* 
written by Mrs. Stockton to her brother, Elias Boudinot : 

" Morven, Oct. 23, 1781. 

" Mv Dear Brother : I received, and thank you, for your 
line by the stage, with heartfelt transport I give you joy on 
the happy success of our arms in this great event ; joy to you 
and to all your worthy Brethren in Congress, the aspect that 
the capture of Lord Cornwallis and his whole army will give 
to our affairs in Europe and to the Southward, is such as 
must cause the heart of every lover of their Country, to beat 
high with transport at this most glorious news, and even I, 
that of late so seldom feel a gleam of joy on my own account, 
when I think of the importance of it, and the feelings of my 
suffering friends and Countrymen, of the Southern States, on 
the occasion, I am almost in raptures. 

* Bring now ye muses from the Morian grove, 
The wreath of Victory, which the Sisters wove ; 
Wove and laid up, in Mars most awful fane, 
To crown my Hero on the Southern plain. 
See from Castalia's Sacred Font they haste, 
And now already, on his brow 'tis placed. 
The trump of fame aloud proclaims the joy 
And, Washington is Crowned ! re-echoes to the sky.' 
* This letter remains in the collection of Samuel W. Stockton at Morven. 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. ^l 

Pardon this fragment, ^the fit Is on me, and I must jingle, and 
it is lucky for you that you have no more of it. You' will 
smile at my being so interested, but though a female, I was 
born a Patriot, and I can't help it if I would. 

" But how this event ought to fill every heart with grati- 
tude and praise to the God of Battle, and the Supreme Dis- 
poser of All Events, not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy 
Glorious Name be all the honor for there is none other that 
fighteth for us, but only thou, O God ! 

"What pleasure, my Dear Brother, it gives the mind con- 
scious of having their most fervent daily prayers answered in 
so great an Event, I am sure for my part, since the day 
General Washington went from this house, and I guessed the 
Enterprise, I have had it so much at heart, that I have not 
forgot it day nor night, and so I will have pleasure in viewing 
it as the answer of my prayers, and if we women cannot fight 
for our beloved Country, we can pray for it, and you know 
the widow's mite was accepted. 

" But I see you are out of patience, as so soon as you 
open this letter, and methinks I hear you say, how much 
prate has these lines brought on me, I have not time to read 

such a letter 

"Your Obliged and Affect. 
"Sister, 

"A. Stockton." 

However interesting it may be to the student of American 
history to know that Morven can claim the honor of being one 
of the head-quarters of the Father of his Country, yet it is the 
memory of his second visit there that has cast around Mor- 
ven the halo of romance which adds more to its charm 
than any tale of Colonial days that the most nimble pen 
could weave, and dims a little, perchance, the light whereby 



64 MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 

we should view the ancient manor-house — the reflections of 
the useful lives of those several distinoruished men who have 
gone forth from its portals to serve, in arms or in the halls 
of Congress, their country and their fellow-men. 

Standing, however, on the lawn at Morven, the name of 
Washington is uppermost in our mind, and we picture him 
dismounting from his little, hard-pulling, double-bitted roan 
gelding, out of his old crooked army saddle with its buff and 
blue saddlecloth, and passing under the portico and into the 
hall, over polished floors which but a little time before had 
echoed the clank and jingle of Hessian sabres and spurs 
on pillage bent, or the measured tramp of the British life- 
guardsmen on sentry duty. 

It is easy, too, for us to conjure up in our imagination the 
many excellent dinners at Morven to which His Excellency 
and Madam Washington were invited, and to view the distin- 
guished company gathered about the long table there in the 
dininof-hall, and we seem to hear the clink of classes and 
listen to many a hearty toast to the "Ragged Continentals," 
to whom, in a few short weeks. Sir Guy Carleton was to de- 
liver over the last posts held by the red-coats upon our soil. 

But the story of Morven is not always gay, though it is 
always a tale of the devotion of its owners to the interests 
of their country and to the cause of Liberty — a story inter- 
spersed with sacrifices and sufferings ; but, as we read it or 
think it over whilst visiting there, it is pleasant to remember 
also that after eight years of unremitting toil and anxiety 
General Washington spent many of his last days as com- 
mander-in-chief of the army, and the first of those which 
offered any relaxation from active military duty, as a frequent 
ofuest at Morven Mansion. 

Morven is prettily seated in the heart of Princeton, and 
the old town is on the site of the broad acres of its Colonial 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 65 



proprietors. The mansion is said to have been built by John, 
son of the second Richard Stockton, shortly after he acquired 
the plantation under his father's will, which was proved in 
1 709. The main building is therefore nearly two centuries 
old. How John Stockton called the place we cannot now 
ascertain, but the present name of Morven was bestowed 
upon it by Anice Stockton, the wife of the Signer. The 
Morven of fiction was the home of Fingal, king of the Cale- 
donians, who occupied the western coast of Scotland, and is 
described in the Ossian poem of Temora. It was Mrs. Stock- 
ton, also, who laid out the grounds and planted the garden 
so long noted for its beauty. Her husband writes her from 
England durinor his visit there in 1766 : 

"I am making you a charming collection of bulbous roots, 
which shall be sent as soon as the prospect of freezing on 
your coast is over. The first of April, I believe, will be time 
enough for you to put them in your sweet little flower-garden, 
which you so fondly cultivate. Suppose, in the next place, I 
inform you that I design a ride to Twickenham the latter end 
of next month, principally to view Mr, Pope's gardens and 
grotto, which, I am told, remain nearly as he left them, and 
that I shall take with me a gentleman who draws well, to lay 
down an exact plan of the whole !" 

Doubtless the grounds at Morven were finished after the 
desisfn sent of Mr. Pope's crardens. 

The avenue of majestic elms through which Morven is 
reached, and the row of catalpas along the whole front, were 
planted by Richard Stockton the Signer. 

" Every year, with the undeviating certainty of the seasons, 
these catalpa trees put on their pure white blooming costume 
on the Fourth of July, and for this reason they are called, in 
this country, the 'Independence Tree.' Here, in the presence 
of the house in which he was born, and in which he lived and 
5 



66 MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



died, these trees recall, with the sweet fraofrance of their bios- 
soms on every Fourth of July, the memory of the Declaration 
of Independence and this honored Son of Liberty, by whom 
it was signed." 

These trees, which in one way have helped to make Mor- 
ven famous, are referred to in one of the charming- odes 
which Anice Stockton wrote yearly in commemoration of her 
husband's death : 

" To me in vain shall cheerful Spring return, 
And tuneful birds salute the purple morn ; 
Autumn in vain presents me all her store, 
Or Summer courts me with her fragrant bowers. 
These fragrant bowers were planted by his liand, 
And now neglected and unpruned must stand, 
Ye stately Elms and lofty Cedars, mourn 
How through vour avenues you saw him borne." 

The mansion is a two-story Colonial structure of rough 
brick, having a portico over the principal entrance, and two 
large wings with entrances, containing in all fifteen spacious 
rooms, exclusive of the main hall. The dining-hall and recep- 
tion-room are on the first lloor of the main structure, v.'hilst 
the withdrawing-room and library are on the first floor of the 
right wing. The kitchens, hallowed by the memory of hosts 
of savory dishes, are on the first floor of the left wing. The 
upper floors of the entire building are divided into bed- 
chambers. 

The library, which is reached from the withdrawing-room, 
contains a fine collection of books, some of them very rare. 
A recent visitor noted an oriorinal folio Hoo-arth and other 
scarce, fine editions. Here was kept the library of John 
Stockton and of Richard the Signer, embracing many valu- 
able and curious books brouofht from EnHand, and here 
doubtless were those "Quaker books" purchased, it is re- 
lated, by the first Richard Stockton in America. The orig- 



MORl'EN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



67 



inal library was totally destroyed by the British when the 
house was plundered. The right and left wings were, in 
Revolutionary days, of only one story, but were added to by 
Commodore Stockton shortly before his death. In other 
respects the mansion remains unaltered. The present owner, 
Mr. Bayard Stockton, has made some changes in the interior 




of the house, but the portrait of Commodore Stockton and 
some others yet hang upon the walls. 

There was formerly at Morven the state dinner-set used 
l)\' Richard the Signer, and by his widow whilst General 
Washington was her guest. This china, which is of the 
dark-blue willow-ware pattern now so rare and so dearly 
prized, is the property of Major Samuel Witham Stockton 
of Princeton. 



68 MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



Many rare old pieces of mahogany furniture, relics of 
Colonial Morven, are also in Major Stockton's possession, 
together with many of the family portraits. Here also is the 
original portrait of Mrs. Bache, daughter of Benjamin Frank- 
lin, of Rev. Andrew Hunter, chaplain in the Continental 




REV. ANDREW HUNTER. 



Army, of Mary Stockton, his wife, daughter of the Signer, 
and others equally interesting. 

Although a large part of the Stockton correspondence has 
been scattered or destroyed, there yet remain many interest- 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 69 



ing Revolutionary letters in Major Stockton's collection, some 
of them from the Rev. Mr. Hunter describing the various bat- 
tles, including that of Monmouth, in which he was engaged. 
There are also a number of letters from Richard Stockton, 
son of the Signer, to his wife, written whilst he was absent at 
Washington upon public business. These latter epistles teem 
with an affectionate interest in Morven, a restless anxiety con- 
cerning the welfare of his little family, and breathe that same 
lofty patriotism for which his father was noted and so long 
remembered. 

The history of the Stocktons commences on this side of 
the Atlantic, but at a very early period in the annals of the 
Colonies. The founder of the family here was one Richard 
Stockton, who, with his wife and children, appeared in Flush- 
ing, Long Island, some time before 1656. According to some 
accounts, he is said to have been a descendant of John Stock- 
ton, Esq., of Keddington, in the parish of Malpas, Cheshire, 
who about 1550 married Eleanor Clayton. Another state- 
ment is that he was baptized in the parish church of Malpas, 
in Cheshire, 26th of June, 1606, and was the son of John 
Stockton. There is certainly nothing to prove that he was 
identical w^ith this last-mentioned Richard, and indeed it 
seems quite impossible, taking into consideration the ages of 
his wife and children and the time of his death, that it could 
be so. It is, however, more probable that he came from the 
county of Durham, and perhaps, oddly enough, from near 
the town of Stockton on the Yorkshire line. In this con- 
nection it may be observed that the name of Richard Stock- 
ton is of frequent occurrence in the history of Durham and 
Yorkshire. 

The name of the Richard Stockton with which the Amer- 
ican line begins appears in a petition of some of the inhabit- 
ants of the town of Flushing, dated 8th of November, 1656, 



70 MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 

requesting the release of a certain William Wickendom, who 
had been so indiscreet as to get himself fined and imprisoned 
for preaching without a license, which was a very heinous 
offence indeed in those days. 

On April 2 2d, 1665, Richard Stockton, was commissioned 
by Governor Nicolls lieutenant of the horse company of 
Flushing, and in 1669 lieutenant of a company of foot. The 
latter honor he begs leave to decline by a petition to the 
governor, setting forth that he has already served his time in 
the horse company. Whether or not he was excused we do 
not know, but it is very evident from this that military service 
in Long Island at that time was compulsory. It would also 
appear that this Richard Stockton, if the father and not the 
son is meant, must have been known as a man who had seen 
military service abroad, probably under Cromwell, as the first 
petition above referred to shows him to have had Puritanical 
tendencies. He did not, indeed, become a Quaker until shortly 
before his removal from Flushing to Jersey, when he is found 
charged in the accounts of a certain merchant of that town 
with a lot of "Quaker books." This was in 1686. Richard 
Stockton appears to have been a well-to-do person for that 
day and place, and no doubt was a man of education, and of 
standing amongst his neighbors. 

In 1675 ^''is estate at Flushing consisted of twelve (12) 
acres of land, one negro slave, five (5) horses, five (5) cows, 
and five (5) swine ; in 1683, of ten (10) acres of upland, two 
(2) horses, four (4) oxen, seven (7) cows, four (4) swine, and 
twenty (20) sheep. In 1685 he was one of the freeholders 
of Flushing, as appears by a deed of that date (Orig. Pet. 
Dep, Archives, Albany). 

On December 15th, 1690, we find Richard Stockton's pro- 
posal for all his housing, lands, and conveniences belonging 
thereunto, being about seventy (70) acres or more at home, 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 71 

and two ten-acre lots and two twenty-acre lots at a mile or 
two distance, with so much meadow as may yield twenty or 
twenty-live loads of hay a year, price ^300, all of which 
appears set forth in the account-book kept by John Brown 
of Flushing-, who acted as his agent in the matter. On 30th 
of July, having decided to remove to Jersey, he purchased 
of George Hutchinson his house and plantation called On- 
eanickon (or Annanicken), in Springfield Township, Burlington 
County, West Jersey, where he continued to reside until his 
death. He did not, however, immediately dispose of his 
Flushing property, and it was not until 12th of March, 1694, 
that he sold it at the figure he held it at (^300), with the con- 
sent of his wife, Abigail, to one John Rodman, it "being by 
coast on the Bay commonly called Mattagareson Bay, within 
the bounds of Flushing, being about 80 acres." 

He dieci in his house at Oneanickon some time durino- 
the month of September, 1 707, leaving a last will and testa- 
ment dated 25th of January, 1705-6, which mentions his sons 
Richard, John, and Job, his wife, Abigail, then living, and 
five daughters : Abigail, Mary, Sarah, Hannah, and Eliza- 
beth, who married into the families of Ridgway, Shinn, 
Crispin, Jones, Phillips, and Budd. (See charts, pp. 80, 81.) 
Dame Abigail Stockton was living so late as April 14th, 
I 714, at Oneanickon. 

The second Richard Stockton was born about the year 
1645, probably in England, and was, it is believed, the eldest 
son. He removed with his father from old England, but did not 
afterward settle with him in Burlington County, but at Piscata- 
way, in Middlesex County, going thence to the site of Princeton, 
where he purchased 400 acres of land from the Proprietors of 
East Jersey, by a deed dated August, 1696. This land was on 
the north side of Stony Brook, and was subject to a quit rent 
of £^ sterling per annum to the lords of the fee. In 1701 he 



72 MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



had a patent from William Penn, in consideration of the sum 
of ^900, lawful money of Pennsylvania, for 5500 acres of 
land on Stony Brook, upon a part of which the present town 
of Princeton is erected. It is supposed that he resided in 
the ancient stone house in Edgehill Street, afterward called 
"The Barracks," before he purchased tlie property now 
known as Morven. He married late in life (9th month 8th, 
1691), at Chesterheld Meeting. Susanna Robinson, who sur- 
vived him and became the wife of Thomas Leonard, Esq., 
of Princeton, by whom, however, she is said to have had 
no children. Richard Stockton died in 1709, leaving a 
widow and six sons — Richard, the eldest son, to whom 
he devised by will 300 acres out of his j^lantations \ Samuel, 
who acquired 500 acres ; Robert, who also got 500 acres ; 
John, who inherited 500 acres ; and Thomas, to whom he 
left the 400 acres at " Annanicken " which he had inherited 
from his father, the first Richard. All of his meadow-lands 
were to be equally divided between his sons. He also willed 
that each son. when he arrived at the age of twenty-one years, 
was to have a negro slave. 

John Stockton, the fifth son, had for his share the plan- 
tation of 500 acres which later was called Morven. This 
John is described as a very fine type of an English country 
gentleman of that period. He seems, indeed, to have been 
a person of more than ordinary attainments and of unusual 
education for his day. It is certain that he acquired much 
wealth and was the builder of Morven Mansion. 

During John Stockton's life Morven was the scene of 
much festivity. Fox-hunting was then a fashionable sport 
of the aristocracy in Jersey as well as in Virginia, and during 
the fall and winter Morven was frequently the scene of many 
a merry hunt-breakfast. Colonel Cosby, the governor, John 
Hamilton, Cornelius Van Horn, and John Wills, members of 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 73 

the Council, and many other colonial worthies, were guests at 
Morven at various times. 

This owner of Morven was one of the first presiding Jus- 
tices of His Majesty's Court of Common Pleas for the County 
of Somerset, and a member of Assembly, 'tis said, from his 
county. The most important enterprise of John Stockton, 
however, was the securino^ to Princeton the Colleo-e of New 
Jersey, to which undertaking and to the further welfare of this 
institution he devoted much of his time, money, and energy. 
He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church, having early 
severed himself from membership in the Society of Friends. 

John Stockton married (in 1729) Abigail Phillips, by whom 
he had — Richard the Signer ; Captain John Stockton, who died 
at sea ; Philip, and Samuel Witham Stockton. The latter 
graduated at Nassau Hall in the class of 1767, and went to 
Europe in 1774 as secretary of the American Commission to 
the Courts of Austria and Russia ; returning in 1779, he was 
elected secretary of the Convention of New Jersey to ratify 
the Constitution of the United States in 1787. He removed 
to Trenton in 1794, and became Secretary of State the next 
year. He died from being thrown from a chaise whilst on his 
way to court. 

John Stockton's daughter, Hannah, married Elias Bou- 
dinot, President of the Continental Congress. Some time 
prior to his decease John vStockton deeded, as a gift, to his 
eldest son, Richard the Siorner, the east side of the home- 
stead plantation, now Morven, and he devised by his will, 
proved 1757, to his son John "that part of his plantation 
lying on the north side of Main Street, on the King's High- 
way ;" and the land on the south side of Main Street to be 
equally divided between his other sons, Philip and Samuel 
Witham. A map of the Stockton estate, made at that time, 
is extant. 



74 MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 

The death at Morven of John Stockton brings us at once 
to the hfe of Richard Stockton the third, into whose hands the 
place passed immediately after the death of his father. 

Richard Stockton the Signer, the eldest son of John, was 
born at Morven, and at an early age was sent to school at the 
academy of Nottingham in Maryland. Here, under the tuition 
of the celebrated Rev. Samuel Finley, afterward president of 
Princeton College, he progressed so rapidly that after two 
years of study he was entered as a scholar at the College of 
New Jersey, and graduated with the first class at Newark. 
He then entered the law-offices of David Ogden of Newark, 
a famous attorney of that day, and was admitted to the bar in 
1754. Soon after this he married Anice Boudinot, sister to 
Elias Boudinot, his sister's husband, one of the Presidents of 
Congress under the Confederation and afterward Director 
of the United States Mint. 

Richard Stockton was not long in becoming both eminent 
and popular, not only in his own neighborhood and county, 
but elsewhere in the Colonies. He was early chosen a Jus- 
tice, and soon after became a member of the King's Council 
for the Province of New Jersey. 

In 1766, after twelve years of unceasing toil at the county 
bar and in practice in the Supreme Court of the Province, he 
decided upon a trip to P^urope for his heaUh, which had been 
seriously imipaired by hard study. It was his desire that his 
wife should accompany him, but to this she would not con- 
sent on account of her devotion to their children. 

Whilst in England, Mr. Stockton received the greatest atten- 
tion from a number of prominent persons among the nobility. 
He attended the birthnight ball held by the queen in London, 
and whilst in Scotland was presented with the freedom of the 
city of Edinburgh. Amid all this gayety he did not cease to re- 
member his home at Princeton. Of the queen's ball he writes 




RICHARD STOCKTON THE SIGNER. 



MOJ^l'SN .-iND TNS STOCK TIXYS. 

to his JcMr " Anu^lia." iho name' In \vhi*.-h Anico Stockton dc 
liL^hiod to bo oalU\l ; " I loro 1 saw all your duohossos ot Aiums 
lor. I lamilion. etc.. so tamous tor thoir hoautx . Hut now I liavo 
dono with this suhjoot ; tor 1 had raihor ramblo w ith you alono- 
tho rivulols ot' MorvcMi or Kod llill. and soo tho rural sports 
ot" tho chasto litilo tVov^s. thvin a^^viin bo at a birthni^ht k\ll." 
Ai^ain ho says : • 1 lad you received a lottor 1 wrote \ou tVoni 
Publin. and tho ono 1 wrote you upon my return, you would 
have LiUi^hed at those idle people in Philadelphia who would 
persuade vou that 1 j^rotor tho oloi^anco ot bni^Lind to tho 
svlvvin shades ot America. No ' m\ dearest Amelia, tlu^ 
peacetul homo which i.iod has blessed me with at l^rincoion, 
vou anvl the sweet children you have broui^ht n\e. are the 
sourct\s trom which 1 rocoi\o m\ hii^hest oarthK joxs."" 

Whilst in I'Minburi^h oUi^av^od in v\n ettort. which was sub- 
sequently successful, to induce Ur. W'itherspoon to accept the 
otVice ot" president ot' the CoUe^^o ot' Now lersev. Stockton 
Wvis attacked in the streets one dark niv^ht b\ tootpads. 
on which occ.ision. wo are told. Ihmuv^ ai\ export swon.ls- 
man. he detended himselt with distinguished courai^e. 
woundiuv; and driviii4>; otl' his assailants. Ihe sword which 
ho usod in that flight was loui; preserved by the tamily. 
It was probably in ret'erenco to this episode that ho wrote 
to Ills Amelia: "W'h.ii .ibund.int ro.isons h.u o I to bless 
livHl tor His oracious protection through .dl tho d.mi^tMs I 
h.u o passovl I " 

In connection with this visit to lulinbur^^h it m.u bo uumi- 
tionod that it w.is Rich.ird Stockton alone who induced IV. 
\\ ilhcrspoon to come out to Trinctnon. "It is," ho s.iys in a 
loiter to his wite. "a m.ilier absoluloK certain that, it' 1 had 
not oone in person to Scotland. Or. W'itherspoon would not 
have h.ul .i serious thoui^ht ot .iccoptinv; the otVice." because 
neither ho nor .in\ ot his triends with whom ho would ha\o 



78 MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 

consulted had any tolerable idea of the place to which he was 
invited, had no adequate notions of the importance of the 
College of New Jersey, and, more than all, would have been 
entirely discouraged from thinking of an acceptance from an 
artful, plausible, yet wickedly contrived letter sent from Phila- 
delphia to a gentleman of Edinburgh. I have obtained a 
copy of it, but cannot take time to send you any extracts, nor 
would it be necessary if I had time, because the contents of it 
at present had better be unknown. 1 was so happy as to have 

an entire confidence placed in me by Dr. Witherspoon 

and certainly have succeeded in removing all the objections 
which have originated in his own mind." With Mrs. Wither- 
spoon this eloquent diplomatist was not so successful, because, 
as he observes, she would not give him an opportunity. After 
following her about Scotland for some time, he left to his 
friends the task of winning her over. He continues: "I 
have enraeed all the eminent cleroymen in Edinbureh and 
Glasgow to attack her in her intrenchments, and they 
are determined to take her by storm." No doubt Mr. 
Stockton gave the learned doctor a glowing account of the 
Jersey pines and the cheerful society furnished in Princeton 
at that day. 

Letters written from England bv Richard Stockton eive us 
an insight into the public affairs of Great Britain during his 
visit there. "The Great Commoner," he writes, "is degraded 
by a peerage, and has the title of the Earl of Chatham. The 
people here are extremely disgusted with him for accepting 
it, and I know they will not like it better in America." He 
writes again : " Public affairs are but in a bad way ; the people 
still continue to abuse Lord Chatham. Mr. Grenville and his 
party cannot brook the repeal of the vStamp Act, and cannot 
keep from venting their rancor against America, in the House 
of Commons, upon every occasion. 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 79 



" Mr. Charles Townsend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
informed the House last week that he was preparing a scheme 
to lay before them for raising money from the Colonies ; 
urged the necessity of sending more troops there, and the 
propriety and justice of their supporting them. I exceedingly 
fear that we shall get together by the ears, and God only 
knows what is to be the issue." 

In another letter he says : "A few clays ago I was intro- 
duced to General Conway, one of the Secretaries of State. 
He received me very politely, and asked me many important 
questions about America. I am happy that I had nothing to 
ask of government, and therefore dare speak my sentiments 
without cringing. Wherever I can serve my native country I 
leave no occasion untried." 

These letters show a taste for politics and an acquaintance 
with British statesmen that proved of great assistance to him 
during his services in the Revolution. After remaining in 
England about sixteen months, he returned to Morven in 
September, 1767. 

Upon the breaking out of the Revolutionary War he at 
first, like some others, looked forward to a reconciliation of 
the Colonists with the mother-country. Those efforts having 
failed, he devoted his energies to a zealous defence of Amer- 
ican Liberty. In this cause he was ably seconded by all of 
the members of his immediate family but one. His brothers, 
Rev. Philip and Hon. Samuel Witham Stockton, the Hon. 
Elias Boudinot, his brother-in-law, and Dr. Benjamin Rush, 
his son-in-law, all hazarded their fortunes in the Continental 
service. 

In 1776, Richard Stockton was elected to the Continental 
Concrress, and, with Dr. Rush, siofned the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. A few months after this brave man, who had 
pledged to the cause of Liberty his life, his property, and his 



8o MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



sacred word ot honor, was called upon to make good his 
pledge. 

In December, 1776, Lord Cornwallis was advancing with 
fire and sword through the Jerseys. Princeton being threat- 
ened, Richard Stockton removed his family to the house of 
his friend and compatriot, John Covenhoven, in Monmouth 
County, leaving Morven at the last moment when the British 
were approaching, his young son, Richard, and one servant 
being the last to remain in the house. 

The Stockton mansion w^as at once turned into the British 
head-quarters, and, according to the usual gentlemanly con- 
duct of English officers of that day, everything breakable left 
in the house was smashed. The valuables, including the plate 
and some fine china, had been placed in three large chests 
and buried in a near-by field, but, owing to the treachery of 
a farm-hand, most of the goods were discovered by the Eng- 
lish troopers after hard digging. Those overlooked included 
some handsome silverware with the Stockton arms engraved 
upon it. This plate was afterward, on this account, much 
prized by the family. 

The portraits of Ricliard Stockton and his wafe, the former 
being a fine picture by Copley, were slashed at by the sol- 
diers, and subsequently found in some rubbish out of doors. 
The portrait of the Signer was cut from ear to ear, a damage 
which was afterward so skilfully repaired that it is almost 
unnoticeable. These pictures are still in the possession of 
descendants. 

Although fully thirty miles out of the line of march of the 
British army, Richard Stockton's retreat was discovered, and 
he was seized and put in irons, being conveyed thus to Am- 
boy, whence he was marched to New York, and there cast 
into the common jail. 

Although efforts were at once directed toward effecting his 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



release, yet his sufferings in tlie filthy prison, in which he was 
kept without sufficient food and clothing, were such as to lay 
the foundation of the painful disease of which he afterward 
died. 

It is known that a party of Royalist volunteers divulged his 
whereabouts to the English, and his kinsman. Major Robert 
Stockton, of a Tory regiment of foot — the single exception to 
loyalty in the Stockton family — was suspected of having a 
hand in the enterprise. II this is so, he was richly repaid, for 
we read in a letter from Lord Howe to Col. Elias Boudinot, 
under date of 1778, that Major Stockton of the New Jersey 
volunteers (Royalists) was taken at Princeton and put in 
irons, together with a captain and the chaplain of his regi- 
ment. Richard Stockton was exchanged some time before 
April 29, 1777, for we learn by the diaries of the Moravian 
congregation at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that Mr. Stockton 
visited there for the purpose of refurnishing his house, and 
left the town on the above date. After a long and painful 
illness Richard Stockton the Signer died at Morven, Feb- 
ruary 28, 1 78 1. 

All through his tiresome sickness his faithful wife nursed 
him with unfailing care. On a night some time before he 
died she composed some verses which have been preserved 
to us : 

" Sleep, balmy sleep, has closed the eyes of all, 
But me, ah me ! no respite can I gain ; 
Though darkness reigns o'er this terrestrial ball, 
Not one soft slumber cheats this vital pain. 

While through the silence of this gloomy night 

My aching heart reverb' rates every groan, 
As, watching by that glimmering taper's light, 
I make each sigh, each mortal pang, my own. 

"Morven, December 3, 1780." 
6 



82 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



Three months afterward, as the rising sun cast its rays on 
the walls of stately Morven, the soul of its patriotic owner, 
after a night of agony, was summoned by its Maker to those 
regions where there is no pain, only peace and rest. 




MARY STOCKTON HUNTER. 



" Why does the Sun, with usual splendor, rise 
To pain with hated light these aching eyes? 
Let sable clouds enshroud his shiny face, 
And murmuring winds re-echo my distress. 
Be Nature's beauty with deep gloom o'erspread, 
To mourn my Lucius, numbered with ye dead. 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 83 



Mute is that tongue, whicli list'niiig Senate charm'd, 
Cold is that breast which every virtue wann'd. 

" O greatly honored in the lists of fame ; 

He dignified the jutlge, — the statesman's name ; 
How ably he discharged each public trust, 
In council firm, in execution just, 
Can best be uttered by his country's voice, 
Whose approbation justified their choice. 

" Anice Stockton, Morven, February 28, 1781." 

The funeral sermon of the Signer was preached in the 
college chapel by the Rev. Ur. S. S. Smith, then vice-pres- 
ident of that institution. Of the dead patriot he spoke thus : 
"Another of the fathers of learning- and eloquence is gone. 
. ... At the bar he practised for many ye^ars with unrivalled 

reputation and success In council he was wise and firm ; 

. ... as a man of letters he possessed a superior genius, highly 
cultivated by long and assiduous application ; . . . . but he was 
particularly admired for a flowery and persuasive eloquence, 
by which he long governed in the courts of justice," He 
was laid at rest in the Quaker burial-ground of Stony Brook, 
and rests in an unmarked grave. 

After the death of her husband Mrs. Stockton continued 
to occupy Morven until her son Richard, who inherited the 
property under his father's will, married, when she gave 
up the homestead to him and resided near by. We have 
already alluded to General Washington's visits to Princeton. 
Some of his letters to Mrs. vStockton, especially those ac- 
knowledging the odes which she occasionally sent him after 
some great victory, are exceedingly sprightly in their lan- 
guage, and show an intimate acquaintance with Morven and 
the .Stocktons. That written after receiving a poem upon the 
surrender of Yorktown reads as follows : 



84 MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



Philadelphia, July 22, 1782. 
Madam : — 

Your favor of the 17th, conveying to me your pastoral on 
the subject of Lord Cornwallis' capture, has given me great 
satisfaction. Had you known the pleasure it would have 
communicated, I Hatter myself your diffidence would not have 
delayed it to this time. Amidst all the compliments which 
have been made on this occasion, be assured, madam, that 
the agreeable manner, and the very pleasing sentiments in 
which yours is conveyed, have affected my mind with the most 
lively sensations of joy and satisfaction. 

This address, from a person of your refined taste and ele- 
gance of expression, affords a pleasure beyond my powers of 
utterance, and I have only to lament that the hero of your 
pastoral is not more deserving of your pen ; but the circum- 
stances shall be placed among the happiest events of my life. 
I have the honor to be, madam. 

Your most obedient and respectful servant, 

G. Washington. 

Mrs. Stockton. 

After peace had been declared, and during Washington's 
stay at Rocky Hill, near Morven, Mrs. Stockton forwarded 
him a poem which she had prepared for the occasion, and 
which the commander-in-chief acknowledged September 2, 
1783, by an invitation to dine with him, couched in such a 
lively mood that we need not be told the war was over. He 
says : 

"You apply to me, my dear madam, for absolution, as 
though I was your father confessor, and as though you had 
committed a crime, great in itself, yet of the venial class. 
You have reason good, for I find myself strangely disposed to 
be a very indulgent ghostly adviser on this occasion, and. not- 
withstanding you are the most offending soul alive : (that is, 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 85 

if it is a crime to write elegant poetry) yet if you will come 
and dine with me on Thursday, and go through a proper 
course of penitence, which shall be prescribed, I will strive to 
assist you in expiating these poetical trespasses on this side 
of purgatory," 

This is thought to be one of the most sprightly and witty 
letters that ever emanated from the usually dignified pen of 
George Washington. In it we catch a glimpse of another 
side to the austere portraits of his life which his biographers, 
in an attempt to deify him, have hitherto presented us with. 
Recent articles on the domestic life of the "real Washincrton," 
it is true, have assisted in dispelling, to a certain degree, these 
illusions, and certainly accord with the tendency toward con- 
viviality expressed in this letter to Mrs. Stockton of Morven. 
It would also seem, from Washington's playful reference to 
dinner, that this meal with him was not the solemn function 
that some historians have claimed, for it is extremely difficult 
for us to imagine that at the dinner-party to which the Father 
of his Country invited Mrs. Stockton he spent most of his 
time between courses drumming on the table with a fork 
especially provided by the waiter for that purpose — silent 
and impatient for his release from a disagreeable but neces- 
sary duty. 

Perhaps, however, the unusual vivacity of the hostess of 
Morven, coupled with her dexterity at entertainment, rather 
rarer in society women then than now, fanned the flickering 
flame of gayety which through many years of war had waxed 
dimmer and dimmer in the heart of the First Soldier of 
America. 

In after days, when Congress was assembled at Princeton, 
Mrs. Stockton frequently entertained Washington, then Presi- 
dent, and members of Congress, at Morven, and after she 
had surrendered the old place to her son Richard we are 



86 MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 

told that Washington was a frequent caller at her Princeton 
home. 

Mrs. Stockton was truly a remarkable woman for her day. 
The verses which she was so fond of writing possess a merit 
considerably above the average American poetry of that period. 
If she had, indeed, possessed opportunities for uninterrupted 
study and had carefully revised her lines, we might now have 
known her better as an authoress than as the patriotic wife of 
a Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Although her 
portrait, with that of her husband, has gone from Princeton, one 
remembrance of her still survives. This is a handsome table 
which she caused to be made of cherry-wood grown at Mor- 
ven, and presented to her daughter, Mary Hunter, from whom 
it came to Major Samuel \\ itham Stockton, the present 
Owner. Anice Stockton died in the year 1801. at the resi- 
dence of her son-in-law, Robert Field of Burlington County. 

Richard Stockton, the Signer, left two sons — Richard, 
called for some unknown reason "the Duke," who inherited 
Morven, and Lucius Horatio — and four daughters, Julia, 
Susan, Mary, and Abigail. 

Lucius H. Stockton became an eminent lawyer at Trenton. 
He held the office of District Attorney of New Jersey, and 
was nominated by the elder Adams to be Secretary of War, 
but was not confirmed. His daughter, Sarah, became the 
wife of Rev. William Armstrong, D. D. 

Julia Stockton married Dr. Benjamin Rush; Susan became 
the wife of Alexander Cuthbert, of Canada ; whilst Mary mar- 
ried Rev. Andrew Hunter, chaplain in the Continental Army 
from 1776, and afterward at the United States Navy-yard at 
Washington during the war of 181 2. They were the parents 
of General David Hunter, Dr. Lewis Bond Hunter, and Mrs. 
(Lieutenant) Samuel W. Stockton. 

Abigail Stockton, the youngest daughter of Richard, mar- 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



89 



ried Robert Field of Burlington County, father of Judge Rich- 
ard Stockton Field and Mrs. George T. Olmsted. 

Richard Stockton, "the Duke," who continued to reside 
at Morven, was, like his ancestors, a famous lawyer. He was 




COMMODORE ROBERT FIELD STOCKTON. 



United States Senator from New Jersey in 1796-99, and mem- 
ber of the House, 181 3-1 5. He inherited from his father a 
gift of rare eloquence, and a certain magnetism which was as 
fascinating as it was engaging. Chief Justice Kirkpatrick is 
said to have once remarked that he trembled when Richard 



go MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



Stockton addressed the court, lest the beauty of his language 
should sway his oj)inion. His connection with the Stockton 
homestead is chietly remarkable because it was by him that 
La Fayette was officially received on the occasion of his visit 
to Princeton in 1824. Doubtless the marquis had visited 
Morven with Washing-ton durina- the Revolution, but whether, 
during his brief stay at that town in 1824, he was entertained 
at the Stockton mansion is a mooted question. For his ser- 
vices to Princeton College, from which he had graduated in 
1779, Richard Stockton second was much esteemed. He was 
trustee of the college from 1791 until his death, 7th March, 
1828, and his portrait hangs upon the walls of that institution 
of learning. From Richard Stockton, "the Duke," Morven 
passed into the hands of Commodore Robert Field Stockton, 
his second son. Of him history tells us so much that it is 
needless, here, to give aught concerning him, especially as his 
chief connection with Morven was the occasion of his adding 
a story to each of the wings of the house, and his occasional 
residence there during his eventful public life. 

From Commodore Stockton, Morven came to Major 
Samuel Witham Stockton, who yet owns the old plantation, 
but Morven Mansion is now held by Bayard Stockton, who 
resides there during a part of the year. 



MORVEN AND THE STOCKTONS. 



91 



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CEDAR GROVE. 



CEDAR GROVE. 



It is only an old parchment-bound memorandum-book, 
"Rider's British Merlin for 1683," but what a flood of 
light its commonplace entries, hastily written and at inter- 
vals of years apart, throw upon the life and character 
of one who for nearly two centuries has slept beneath 
the sod in the quiet of the Friends' Burial Ground at 
Fourth and Arch Streets ! The title-page claims that it 
is "bedect with Many delightful Varieties and useful Verities: 
Fitting the Longitude and Latitude of all Capacities within the 
Islands of Great Britain's Monarchy and Chronological Obser- 
vations of Principal Note to the year 1683. Being the Third 
from the Bissextile or Leap Year. With notes of Husban- 
dry, Physick, Faires and Marts, Direction Tables for all neces- 
sary Uses." When it was "made and compiled for the 
benefit of his country by Cordanus Rider," as he quaintly 
puts it, Europe was evidently in a state of unrest and discon- 
tent. The " Merry Monarch " sat on the throne of England, 
and the "Grand Monarch" on that of France. Spain, though 
still powerful, had entered upon her period of rapid decline, 
and the magnificent German Empire of to-day had not yet 
been called into being; the "unspeakable Turk" was carry- 
ing the green standard of the Prophet into Central Europe, 
and the question whether the Cross or the Crescent should 
dominate the fortunes of Eastern Europe for generations to 

7 97 



98 CEDAR GROVE. 

come was yet to be fought out under the walls of Vienna. 
Europe was no place for a bright, enterprising young man 
twenty-three years of age. So at least thought Thomas 
Coates of Leicestershire, who, as he records in this memo- 
randum-book, "went from home the 17th of thee 12th month" 
(1682), stopping at London, where, on the 22d of the succeed- 
ing month, he purchased from Orsler the stationer this veri- 
table memorandum-book which lies before me on the library- 
table as I write. In the almanac under September he 
writes "Tho. Coates was borne the 26th of this in 1659." 
His parents were Henry and Elizabeth Coates of the Old 
Leicestershire and Derbyshire family of that name. One 
family tradition recounts how the family had been ardent 
Royalists, and had stood by the falling cause of Charles I. 
to the end. Like many others, they had welcomed the res- 
toration of the monarchy, but, disgusted at length with the 
excesses of Charles II. 's voluptuous court and the Romanizing 
tendencies of the Duke of York (afterward James II.), they 
had listened to the teachings of George Fox and had become 
Friends. Another tradition, however, states that his father 
was not a convert to the new faith, but disinherited his son 
for embracing it. Be that as it may, Thomas Coates was 
a Friend, and as such determined to cast in his fortunes 
with his brethren in the colony which William Penn had 
founded in the New World, and where his brother-in-law, 
George Palmer of Nonesuch, Surrey, had in 168 1-2 patented 
" five thousand acres of land to be laid out to him in the 
Province of Pennsylvania" (recorded at Harrisburg, Pa., and 
recited in subsequent deed). Exacdy when he left London 
or when he arrived in this country is uncertain ; it was 
evidently early in the year 1683. His brother-in-law, George 
Palmer, with his wife Elizabeth, sailed for America later on, 
in the good ship 'Tsabell Ann Katherren," Thomas Hutson, 



CEDAR GROVE. 99 



Master, but during the voyage George Palmer died, his will 
being dated on shipboard Sept. 4, 1683; "wherein and 
whereby he did give and bequeath unto his wife Elizabeth 
and her heirs for ever the amount of 1000 acres of land, part 
of the above-mentioned 5000 acres," and appointed her exec- 
utrix. The oriofinal will has been lost or mislaid, a dilieent 
search in the office of the Register of Wills at Philadelphia 
having failed to reveal it, and the office copy made in 1766 has 
been carelessly done. Among the witnesses is the name of 
"Enoch Coats," the last two letters being so badly copied 
that the name may not be Coats. The probability is that it 
is, and that he was a younger brother of Thomas Coates, and 
came with his sister Elizabeth. He must have died early, as 
there is no mention of him in any of the family records, and 
his brother's affection for him is shown by the fact that he 
named his second son Enoch after the "loved and lost." 
George Palmer's death upset all Thomas Coates's calcula- 
tions, and made it necessary for him to return at once to 
England in order to settle up his brother-in-law's affairs there. 
He says in his diary: "I left Philadelphia the 19th day of the 
10 (Dec.) '83 and Darby the 20 of the same mon. Choptanke 
the 3 day of the 1 1 month, the same day wee got on board the 
Lively in Herrin Bay and on the 9 day of the 1 1 month (Jan.) 
wee came to Purtuxon. And on the 21 wee came to James 
River in Virginia, and on the seventh day of the 12 mo. wee 
wayed anchor and launched forth into the sea for Ould Eng- 
land. And on the 22 day of the first month (March) wee see 
the land of England, and on ye 25 wee came ashore at Dover 
in Kent." 

Elizabeth Palmer did not long remain a widow, for early 
in 1684 she was married to Thomas Fitzwater, an esteemed 
Minister amonpf Friends, whose son Georofe was the intimate 
friend of Thomas Coates and a Trustee under his will. At 



lOO CEDAR GROVE. 



the time of their passing- Meeting 2d mo. i, 1684, 3- com- 
mittee was "appointed to see to the securing, ordering and 
disposing of Elizabeth Palmer's estate so far as relates to her 
children by her former husband." 

On his return from England he probably went to live at 
Darby, for in the list of settlers in the Darby township book 
is the following: "Thomas Coates from Sprixton in the 
county of Leicester, William Gabitas from East Markham 
in the county of Nottingham, Joseph Need from Arnold in 

the county of Nottingham : The above came in the year 

1686," We also find by the Chester court records that 
on 7th mo. 7, 1686, Thomas Coates purchased of Thomas 
Smith fifty acres of land in that township, then in Chester 
County, but now belonging to Delaware County. The records 
contain few references to the young Friend ; his name as a 
juryman " at a Court held at Chester for y*" County of Chester 
y* 3rd day in the ist weeke of the 7th moneth 1687 " and as a 
witness to marriages in the Darby Monthly Meeting 8 mo. 14, 
1690 and 3d mo. 4, 1691, being almost the only instances we 
have of his being there. 

His residence in Darby was broken up by an untoward 
event. From a curious record on the Monthly Meeting books 
under 9 mo. 27, 1 691, of "George Palmer's letter to his mother 
and sister from Masqueness (Turkey) to solicit a subscrip- 
tion for the redemption of himself and others held prisoners," 
it is evident that the vessel in which George Palmer, Jr., 
was coming to America had been captured by an Algerine 
corsair and the passengers and crew held in slavery in 
Mechinez, the capital city of Morocco, and the next to Fez 
in population and importance. To such an appeal there 
could be but one response ; and accordingly Thomas Coates, 
as soon as he could arrange his affairs here, started for Eng- 
land to see what could be done to redeem his nephew from 



CEDAR GROVE. loi 



captivity. It speaks well for his popularity with his neighbors 
that this memorandum-book contains no fewer than thirty com- 
missions of various kinds which the good people of Darby 
wished him to execute for them in England. He must have 
been successful in his mission, for, though we read in the 
Meeting records under date of 4, 25, 1697, that "a letter 
from George Palmer w^as read wherein he desired his brother 
to dispose of some land to raise ^16 or ^20 for his relief," 
we know that George Palmer, Jr., died at Peckham in Sur- 
rey, in P'eb., 1729, leaving a good estate. Thomas Coates 
tersely records his return voyage thus: "I left London ye 
29th of 3^e 9th month, '94. We came from Plimouth ye 27 
of ye loth month and anchored no more in England, and 
on the 21 of ye 12 month wee see ye land of Virginia." 

Upon his return he removed from Darby to Philadelphia, 
where he had previously purchased property. By deed of "8th 
of 4th month (June) fourth year of the Reign of William 
and Mary King and Queen of England Anno Domini 
1692," William Markham of the Town and County of Phil- 
adelphia, in the Province of Pennsylvania, in the Parts of 
America, conveyed to "Thomas Coates of the County of 
Chester in the said Province," "a certain Lot of Land 
in Philadelphia County, in breadth fourtie nine foot, and in 
length three hundred and six foot ; bounded Northward with 
back lots. Eastward the back of William Clarke's Lot, Law- 
rence Cook's Lot, and the Plimouth Friends, Southward with 
the High Street, and to the Westward with Francis Cook's 
Lott." On this property he built what was for those times 
a good house. Here he lived until his death, when the 
property was willed to his daughter Mary. 

And now, having settled up his affairs at Darby, Thomas 
Coates embarked on his career as a Philadelphia merchant. 

But the young merchant, devoted as he was to business, 



I02 CEDAR GROVE. 



had a soul above the sordid pleasures of trade, and we find 
in the records of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting the fol- 
lowing quaint notice of Thomas and Beulah Coates's passing 
Meeting : 

"At a Monthly Meeting held at the house of Robert 
Ewer the twenty-fifth day of the seventh month, 1696, " Mary 
Sibthorpe and Joan Forrest presented Thomas Coate and 
Beulah Jacoes a second time to this Meeting, and after 
inquiry made concerning his clearness, nothing appeared to 
obstruct his proceeding, they were left to consummate their 
marriage in the fear of God." Their "first intentions" had 
been made the previous month. 

The Jaques family were descendants of French Huguenots 
who had fled to England after the Massacre of St. Barthol- 
omew. They had been living in the City of Brotherly Love 
for several years, where 10 mo. 31, 1686, Thomas Jaques was 
chairman of "a committee to take a survey of the carpenter 
work on the Centre Meeting House and give their judgments 
of the value thereof to the next Meeting." The family were 
certainly cosmopolitan, as far as religious views were con- 
cerned, as all of the four daughters joined different religious 
denominations, Martha, who afterward married John Holme 
of Holmesburg, being a Baptist ; Beulah, a Friend ; the third 
sister, a Presbyterian ; and the fourth became a follower of 
George Keith. 

Happy in his domestic relations and prosperous in busi- 
ness, Thomas Coates had little time to devote to public affairs, 
and we find that on "the return of the Grand and Petty Jury 
of Philadelphia Count3^ 2nd September, 1701, Tho. Coates 
find XX sy for non-attendance. That he lived in comfort, if 
not luxury, is evidenced from the mention in his will of mahog- 
any furniture, when at that time the use of that wood was 
exceedingly rare both in England and America, Lyon's 



CEDAR GROVE. 103 



History of Colonial Furniture in Nciu England only mention- 
ing three instances of its use in the Colonies at that early 
period, Thomas Coates being named as one. His plate, some 
of which is still in the possession of his descendants, is fully 
up to the standard of Quaker luxury, while the silver but- 
tons mentioned in the inventory filed with his will show 
that he did not adhere stricdy to their notions of "simplicity 
in dress," 

Whether from a chivalric desire to defend the weak and 
oppressed or from mere obstinacy, or perhaps a combination 
of both, the family from the days when their ancestors, like 

" Kentish Sir Byng, 
Stood for the King," 

down to the sad anti-slavery days before the war have gen- 
erally found themselves on the unpopular side. When George 
Keith arose to disturb the serenity of Ouakerdom, and became 
as bitter against his former co-religionists as he had previously 
been zealous in their behalf, his defection caused o-feat excite- 
ment, and some of the Friends — notably Governor Lloyd — 
wished to suppress the new heresy by the extremest measures 
of which their peaceable doctrines would permit. Magistrate 
John Holme, whose son was Thomas Coates's brother-in-law, 
refused to act with his fellow-mao;istrate, alleo-ino- that "it was 
a religious dispute, and therefore not fit for a civil court." 
For several years polemical discussions raged furiously in the 
"City of brotherly love," and Thomas Coates evidently took 
up the cudgels for the unpopular side, as the following 
minutes from the records of the Philadelphia Monthly Meet- 
ing indicate : 

4 mo. 26, 1702. " It being laid before the preparative meet- 
ing that Thomas Coates hath been abusive to friends in general 
and hath not been disowned, therefore John Goodson and 



I04 CEDAR GROVE. 



Philip England are desired to deal widi him once more, and 
give die Meeting an account how they find him, before any 
further proceedings be made against him." 

5 mo. 31, 1702. "John Goodson, Philip England, and 
George Gray are desired to endeavor to bring Thomas Coats 
to a sense of his carriages, and Try whether he will give 
Friends satisfaction, otherwise they will be necessitated to 
eive out something to disown him." 

6 mo. 28, 1702. "John Goodson, George Gray, and Philip 
England are desired to continue their care in the business 
of Thomas Coates." 

7 mo. 5, 1702. "The Friends appointed to visit Thomas 
Coats are desired to go to him once more and acquaint him 
that if he will not g-ive Friends satisfaction for his evil behaviour 
and reproaching of them and the Truth, they will be necessi- 
tated to give out a Testimony against him." 

As his wife was active in the Meeting, and was the first 
treasurer of the women's Yearly Meeting, and his children 
retained their birthright membership, and as the family have 
continued in membership until the present time, it is evident 
that the contention was more personal than doctrinal, and that 
for all practical purposes Thomas Coates was as much a P'riend 
as ever. 

On the i6th August, 1705, he bought of Joseph Taylor 
"a certain lot or piece of land situate on the north-west 
corner of High (now Market) Street and Second Street," part 
of which has never passed out of the hands of the Coates 
family. Here in after years his great-great-grandson George 
Morrison Coates commenced his successful career as a mer- 
chant. In the early days of Philadelphia it was difficult to 
obtain good water, owing to the absence of sufficient capital 
to dig deep wells, and having plenty of capital for improve- 
ments, he sunk a deep well on this property, charging a 



CEDAR GROVE. 105 



very moderate water-rent, which was probably only enough 
to keep the well in good repair. His account-book shows 
some items in reference to this : 

"Ye 24th of ye 5 mo. 17 19 Joseph Waite began to fetch 
water at Thomas Coates well in ye Second Street, a 6s. per 
Yeare." This party probably made a well for himself, for we 
find that on "ye 24th of ye 12 mo. 1 719 Joseph Wait left 
fetching water." 

We find also that, in 1717, John Loch, Joshua Johnson, 
Francis Knowles, and others owed for "water-rent." 

And now occurred the first break in this happy family. On 
7mo. 19, 171 1, his eldest son Thomas, a promising lad of 
fourteen years of age, died, and although the stricken parents 
subsequently named two other children after their first-born, 
they both died in infancy, and with the exception of a grand- 
son's son the name of Thomas Coates never after occurs as 
a family name. 

His business still continuing to prosper, he, after the fash- 
ion of the successful men of the time, wished for a country- 
place as well, and we accordingly find that on March 11, 1714, 
he bought of John Cook and Mary his wife and their eldest son 
and heir-apparent all that certain tract or piece of land near 
Frankford, being several lots in all, being altogether 292 1/< 
acres, including 52^^ acres of Liberty land." Here he 
established a plantation, which he appears to have kept well 
stocked, for we find that at his death there were on the place 
four horses and a colt, eight cows, a bull and two heifers, two 
steers, thirty-nine sheep, carts, saddle, and a large number 
of farming implements. 

On the 19th of November. 171 7, Thomas Coates purchased 
from Jane Smith, widow of George Smith, of Burlington, 
" two separate pieces or lots of land fronting (altogether) upon 
High Street, north side, 34 feet 8 inches, and extending by 



io6 



CEDAR GRO\'E. 



several courses to the I)ack lots." Ihis proj)erty is now 
owned in the Morris branch of the family. 

Thomas Coates's active life terminated on 7 month 2 2d, 
I 719, at eleven o'clock at ni<^ht, beini^ within four days of his 
sixtieth birthday, leaving by Beulah his wife, who survived 
him, five children — Enoch, who married Rose Tidmarsh, from 
whose family Tidmarsh Street received its name ; Elizabeth, 




CKOAK OKiiVE. 



married Josej)!! Paschall ; Sarah, who married Iienjamin Shoe- 
maker ; Mary, who married first Samuel Nicholas, and sec- 
ondly John Reynell ; and Samuel, who married Mary Langdale. 
Previous to his death Thomas Coates orave to each of his 
children a gold coin (Jacobus) with the injunction that they 
should never part with it unless they actually wanted bread. 



CEDAR GROVE. 109 



One of these pieces, given to his daughter EHzabeth, who mar- 
ried Joseph Paschall, is now in the possession of his great- 
grandson John T. Morris, the owner of Cedar Grove, who 
had it mounted, as a valued heirloom. 

His widow outlived him nearly twenty-one years, dying 
June 29, 1 741. Like her contemporary, Hannah Callowhill, 
the wife of William Penn, she was a woman of considerable 
business ability, and her advice had frequently guided her 
husband in the various business operations in which he en- 
gaged. The following notices regarding her appeared in the 
PJiiladclphia Friend : 

" She was one of the willing-hearted laborers in the Lord's 
cause, and was much employed in the discipline. Soon after 
it was concluded to set apart a few Friends in the different 
Meetino-s as elders to sit with the ministers, Beulah Coates 
was appointed to that station. Her friends say she 'was 
careful to evidence by an upright life and conversation her 
regard for the promotion of the cause of Truth, being a dili- 
gent attender of our religious meetings both for worship and 
discipline, and was well beloved and esteemed. Departed 
this life the 29th of the fourth month, 1741, in good unity 
with Friends.' " 

It is a striking testimony to the memory of this estimable 
woman that there has always been a Beulah Coates in the 
family, even down to the present day. 

Elizabeth Coates, the eldest daughter, must have been a 
woman of great executive ability, for she was but a little over 
seventeen years old when her father named her as one of the 
executors of his will, her mother and elder brother Enoch 
being the others — a compliment which her mother also paid 
her when, twenty years later, she made her will. From the 
handwriting and the fact that a charge is made in Thomas 
Coates's ledger to " Cousen Elizabeth Palmer," it is probable 



no CEDAR GROVE. 



that the later entries were made by her, and that she kept her 
father's books during the last months of his life. Her father 
left her a valuable property on High (now Market) Street, then 
the fashionable part of the city, and we may presume from the 
circumstances of her courtship that she was as blessed in her 
outward appearance as in her mind and worldly fortune. As 
the family were Friends and held to the Friendly belief that the 
painter's art was a useless if not a sinful one, and tended to 
inculcate vanity and a love for the sinful vanities of the world, 
there is no portrait extant of the young Quaker belle, and much 
may be left to the imagination. That she made a pretty picture 
as she rode her sleek nag to the old Quaker Meeting at Darby, 
with which her father had been connected when he first came 
to the New \\ orld, cannot be doubted, for Joseph Paschall, 
who saw her pass his house, was so fascinated with the vision 
of Quaker loveliness that he stared at her until the fair maiden 
was startled at his earnestness. Aeain, on her return from 
Meeting, the same eager eyes M^ere awaiting her coming, 
and it was clearly a case of love at first sight on the part 
of her unknown admirer. She soon learned that he was 
Joseph Paschall, the son of Thomas Paschall and Margaret 
Jenkins Paschall, prominent in P^riendly circles, and in every 
way worthy of her, and so ardent was the wooing that on 
Feb. 28, 1 72 1, when she was but nineteen years of age, she 
sat by his side on the bench just below that occupied by the 
elders of the Meeting, and "in the presence of the Lord and 
these our friends" she promised "with the Lord's assistance 
to be unto him a loving and faithful wife until death should 
separate them." If the axiom " Happy is the nation that 
has no history- " is applicable to individuals, then the domestic 
life of the Paschalls must have been a happy one, for at this 
distance of time the family historian can find nothing to record 
beyond the fact that thev lived in the house in Hio-h Street 



CEDAR GROVE. 



Ill 



which EHzabeth's father had left her, and that here three 
children were born — viz. Isaac (b. 7 mo. 8, 1728), who mar- 
ried Padence Mifflin; and Beulah (b. 7 mo. 22, 1732) and 
Joseph (b. 4 mo. 1740), who died unmarried. Joseph Paschall 
was a public-spirited citizen, and took a prominent part in the 




GARDEN, CEDAR GROVE. 

affairs of the infant city. He was a member of the Common 
Council in 1732, and Jusdce of the Peace, then an office of 
dignity and importance like the old English Squire so lovingly 
described in Irving, in 1741, and to him may be given the 
honor of originating the Volunteer Fire Department of Phila- 



112 CEDAR GROVE. 



delphia, despite the claims that have been put forward in 
behalf of Benjamin Franklin. 

On the 15th of December, 1853, at the fiftieth anniversary 
of the formation of the Philadelphia Hose company, James P. 
Parke, the oldest member present — whose name stands four- 
teenth on the roll, and who was elected seven days after the 
institution of the company — read the followinfr historical paper : 

" At this season, when we are assembled at the festivities 
of the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of this institution, 
I am desirous of commemoratinLT the names of the two orie- 
inal leaders in the respective departments of our voluntary 
fire associations — the engine and hose companies. 

"On December 7, 1736, the first engine company was 
established in this city. It was organized by twenty indi- 
viduals, a.mong whom was the celebrated Dr. P'ranklin, and an 
impression has gone abroad that to him we are mainly in- 
debted for its formation. But this is by no means the case, 
for his name is found sevendi on the list. At the head of that 
list — an illustrious list, gentlemen, as the commencement of 
that long series of patriotic men who have for a hundred and 
seventeen years so nobly devoted themselves to this laudable 
purpose — stands the name of Joseph Paschall, and, let it ever 
be remembered, through many successive generations, as the 
name of the first volunteer fireman of the city of Philadelphia. 
Think you thcit if Dr. Franklin had been the founder of the 
Union Pire Company his colleagues would not have paid him 
the compliment of the first signature ? Certainly ! But he was 
not the man. It was to the exertions of Joseph Paschall, ' as 
the most energetic and worthy toward the establishment of 
the company,' that this compliment was paid, and while the 
records of that company remain there will continue that 
decisive testimony. 

" Human nature is the same in all aires, and we should 



CEDAR GROVE. 115 



render the same homage now to the founder of any institu- 
tion. ' There is not the slightest evidence given, in a careful 
revision of all the proceedings of the Union, that Dr. Franklin 
did more than any other member either toward its original 
formation or subsequent management. Indeed, his political 
character called him more away from the meetings of the 
company than the other members.' 

'T need not dwell, gentlemen, on the name of the great 
leader in the other department of our voluntary fire associa- 
tions — the founder of this company. His name is at the head 
of your list and familiar to you all. 

"And some of us who are now present can cast our view 
back in the vista of the last fifty years, and bring to our re- 
membrance all the events of the dawn of this company, so 
interesting to our youthful feelings. 

" I therefore beg leave to propose the following sentiment : 

"'The memory of Joseph Paschall and Reuben Haines, 
the great names which stand as leaders of the two respective 
branches of our voluntary fire department — the first fireman 
and the first hoseman of this city ; and while PJiiladclpJiia 
shall stand may the Union be preserved in righteousness and 
justice.'' " 

In 1 741, Beulah Coates passed away, having survived her 
husband nearly a quarter of a century, leaving to her son 
Samuel and his two sisters nearly all her estate, her eldest 
son Enoch having unfortunately lost his share of the fine 
Frankford property which his father had left him. Her will, 
dated Sept. 12, 1739, app<^>'i"»ts her son-in-law, Joseph Paschall, 
and Elizabeth his wife, John Reynell and Mary his wife, ex- 
ecutors. 

Joseph Paschall died 12 mo. 26, 1742, and his widow, who 
had only her children now to live for, determined to purchase 
a home in the country, where they could spend their summers 



ii6 



CEDAR GROVE. 



free from the heat and discomfort of the rapidly growing city. 
Her thoughts naturally went back to the happy days spent 
at her father's place at Frankford, and, the opportunity occur- 
ring of securing a portion of the old estate, she purchased in 
1746 from George Habell, who had bought it from the heirs 




KITCHEN, CF.nAR GROVK. 

of her brother Samuel Coates, fifteen acres, the nucleus of 
the present Cedar Grove. The old house was too small for 
her purposes ; she took it down and In the fall of 1748 built in 
its stead the older portions of the present fine old Colonial 
structure. Her receipt-book for the expenditure upon this 



CEDAR GROVE. 117 



house is now in the possession of her descendant, Mr. John 
T. Morris, the present owner. 

It compares favorably with the existing mansions of that 
day, and the great kitchen, with its fireplace huge enough to 
roast the traditional ox, hints of many a great Christmas 
dinner in those pleasant days of yore. 

The high old-fashioned mantels with their rich yet simple 
designs are in keeping with the place, whilst the pieces of 
mahogany furniture, dearly treasured heirlooms, which abound 
in every room, harmonize well with the antique tall eight-day 
" ofrandfather's clock" which has measured off the lives of 
many generations. 

To the side and rear of Cedar Grove is the garden, rich in 
rare plants and flowers. 

In Elizabeth Paschall's days the lawn must have been her 
delight with its rare old trees and masses of shrubbery, and even 
now, when the railroad to New York has cut off a large portion 
and injured the symmetry of the plan, and the smoke and gas 
from the passing engines cripple the energies of the budding 
vegetation, it is extremely beautiful. There are some fine old 
blush-rose bushes which are believed to date back to her day 
— in short, whether in-doors or out, the spirit of Elizabeth 
Coates Paschall seems to pervade the atmosphere of the 
place. Good men and women have come and gone — have 
walked and talked under these old trees and in these quaint 
old rooms, but her individuality is inseparably connected with 
the place. It may, indeed, have been this subtle influence 
which led to the oft-told story of her spiritual presence seen at 
the attic window gazing down on the children playing on the 
lawn below, just as her children did in years long gone by, or 
of the old-time apparition which came on the stairs leading to 
the dining-room, where she loved to preside at the old-time sup- 
per-table with only her children around her. Elizabeth Paschall 



li8 CEDAR GROVE. 



died about the loth month, 1753, and Cedar Grove went to 
her daughter Beulah, and at her death in 1793 it passed 
to her brother Joseph. When the terrible scourge of 
yellow fever visited the Quaker City and made the year 
1793 memorable in her annals, Samuel Coates, who with 
Stephen Girard had devoted his days to the care of the sick 
and dying, went each evening to a house on his cousin's 
property, where in the salubrious air of Cedar Grove he 
received strength and vigor for the trying work before him. 
There is a letter from him dated " Paschall Cabbin, 9. Oct. 
1793," in which he graphically describes the terrors of that 
awful time. Joseph Paschall, like his aunt, spent his summers 
at Cedar Grove, and lived in the city, for we read in Elizabeth 
Drinker's diary, under date of Feb. 24, 1795: "We were 
invited to the burial of Joseph Paschal on Market Street to- 
morrow afternoon." He left the property by will to his 
nieces, Sarah and Elizabeth Coates Paschall, the only children 
of his brother Isaac. Elizabeth Coates Paschall married 
Thomas Greaves, but, as they had no children, on her death 
the property passed to her sister Sarah, the wife of Isaac 
Wister Morris, a descendant of Anthony Morris, the old 
mayor of Philadelphia. They built the new addition to the 
old house, and added considerably to the acreage of the place, 
until Cedar Grove became one of the prettiest Colonial 
estates in that part of the country, and, though the receding 
ebb of the tide of fashion has long since left it stranded on 
the shores of approaching city life, let us hope that the old 
house and its beautiful grounds may be preserved as a public 
park for the benefit of the rapidly increasing population 
around it. 

HENRY T. COATES. 



COA TES-PASCHALL-MORRIS. 



119 



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BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 



Augustine Herrman and His Horse. 

Fro7n Portrait in possession of Mrs. Massey. 



BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE 
HERRMANS. 




On the second day of October, in the year 1659, a small 
canoe, containing- two white men and an Indian guide, glided 
swiftly and noiselessly over the waters 
of Chesapeake Bay in the direction of 
Kent Island. 

Both men were of stately bearing 
and grave countenance, bespeaking 
the business of weighty import upon 
which they travelled. They were 
Rosevelt Waldron and Augustine 
Herrman, who had come from Man- 
hattan by way of New Amstel (New 
Castle), a long and tedious journey 
at that time, bearing despatches from 
Governor Stuyvesant to the governor of Maryland upon the 
momentous question of the rights and privileges of the Dutch, 
which was causing no small alarm amongst the early settlers. 

Some six months previous to this, a number of soldiers in 
the Dutch service for some unknown reason deserted from 
their settlement on the banks of the Delaware River, and 
sought refuge amongst the English in Maryland. The coun- 
cil of New Amstel demanded a return of the deserters. This 
demand was met by Governor Fendell of Maryland by a 
retort well calculated to alarm — namely, that the colonies 
located south of the fortieth deofree north latitude were within 

123 



THUMI'SON ARMS. 



124 BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 



the territory of Lord l)altimore, and that the Dutch were 
warned to depart. Many fled to Virginia and elsewhere, and 
many a home was left, for a time, desolate ; but the braver of 
them, making- a bold stand for their liberties, sent messengers 
to Governor Stuyvesant of Manhattan to apprise him of the 
state of affairs, so that in the autumn of the same year we find 
Waldron and Herrman sent into Maryland as his ambassadors. 

At Kent Island they were received with all fitting courtesy, 
and obtained a satisfactory interview with the governor and 
Council, when they brought to their notice that Lord Balti- 
more by his charter was given only such land as was 
inhabited by Indians, while the country lying along the Dela- 
w^are River was settled loner before the charter was issued, 
and therefore could not be rightly claimed by him. This 
shrewd argument, after some further parley, finally settled 
the question of the limits of the Dutchmen's jurisdiction. 

Well satisfied with the accomplishment of their mission, Wal- 
dron returned to Manhattan, but Herrman journeyed toward 
the South as far as Virginia, where he was well and hospitably 
entertained by many of the pioneers of early civilization, as was 
indeed befitting so worthy a citizen of New Amsterdam. 

Augustine Herrman, surveyor by profession, was born in 
the city of Prague, in the northern part of Austria, known as 
Bohemia, and came to the New Netherlands in the service of 
the West India Company. He was also interested in priva- 
teering, and part owner of the frigate " La Grace " engaged 
in depredations on the Spanish commerce. He held posts 
under government, and had been ambassador to Rhode Island 
in 1 65 1. He proved himself a man of great executive ability, 
although, like many an adventurer in the New World, was at 
one time beset by many financial difficulties, and was forced 
to flee from his creditors, though shortly afterward pardoned 
and restored to his home and fireside. 



BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 



125 



Herrman in his journey through the South found much to 
desire in the rich timber-land and fertile soil, so productive 
of tobacco and grain, and in the vast numbers of wild fowl 
that harbored along the marshy banks of the many tributaries 
of the Great Bay, "for, though on pleasure he was bent, he 
had a frugal mind," which resulted in his negotiating with 
Lord Baltimore, whereby he proposed to draw up a map of 
Maryland and the surrounding country for the consideration 




THK PRESENT MANOR-HOUSE. 



of a tract of land near the head-waters of Chesapeake Bay. 
[The bargain was concluded, and Herrman received the grant 
jof four thousand acres lying on the eastern shore of the 
Chesapeake, in Cecil County. The patent, which was dated 
June 19, 1662 (about a year after he had settled on the 
lestate), ran thus: it "grants unto Augustine Herrman all that 



126 BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 

tract of land called Bohemia Manor, lying on the east side 
of Chesapeake Bay, and on the west side of a river in the 
said bay called Elk River, on the north-west side of a creek 
in the said river called Herrman's Creek ; beginning at the 
easternmost bound-tree of the land of Philip Calvert, Esq., 
and running south by east up the said creek of the length of 
two thousand perches to a marked oak standing by a cove 
called Herrman's Cove, and from the said oak running north- 




AUGUSTINE HERRMAN, FROM MEDALLION PORTRAIT ON MAP. 

west for the length of three hundred and twenty perches, 
until it intersects a parallel line running west for the length 
of two thousand perches to the said land of Philip Calvert, 
Esq. ; on the west with the said land, on the south with the 
said creek, on the east with the said line, and on the north 
with the said parallel, containing, and now laid out, about 
four thousand acres, more or less, together with all privileges 
thereunto belonging (royal mines excepted)." And this land 



BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS, 



127 



was to be holden of " Cecilius, Lord Baron Baltimore, and of 
liis heirs, as of his manor of St. Marie's, in free and common 
socage, by fealty only for all manner of service, yielding and 
paying therefor, yearly unto us and our heirs, at our receipt 
of St. Marie's, at the two most usual feasts in the year — viz. 
at the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
and at the feast of St. Michael the Archangel — by even and 
equal portions, the rent of four pounds sterling, in silver or 




BOHEMIA LANDING. 



gold, or the full value thereof in such commodities as we or 
our heirs shall accept in discharge thereof" This estate was 
considerably increased during the lifetime of Augustine Herr- 
man by the addition of a strip of land, afterward called Little 
Bohemia or Bohemia Middle Neck, and also during the lives of 
his descendants, his grandson, Ephraim Augustine Herrman, 



128 BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 

adding about a thousand acres by the purchase of a part of St. 
John's Manor on Elk Neck. In 1780 the estate was accurately 
surveyed and found to contain about twenty thousand acres. 

On the bank of one of the many streams flowing into 
the Chesapeake, and commanding a fine view of the bay, 
Auo-ustine Herrman built his house — the home which he des- 
tined as the inheritance of his male descendants, and which, 
in fond remembrance of his native land, he called Bohemia. 
That he might perpetuate his name was ever his cherished 
desire, and so he tilled the soil and planted the old orchard 
of some five hundred apple trees, whose gnarled and twisted 
boughs still bear evidence of many a basket of luscious, fruit 
gathered in when old Mother Nature donned her russet 
gown. The land flourished under cultivation ; vast quantities 
of tobacco were shipped to foreign parts, and an abundance 
of table delicacies were ever at hand in the products of the 
garden, besides game and poultry ; and an epicure might find 
his heart's desire in the fine perch, fresh from the river. 
Many a story was current amongst the negroes of the great 
catches ofl^ Bohemia Landino-. 

Herrman was one of the earliest settlers in Cecil County, 
although many families had settled in the northern and west- 
ern parts of Maryland. He married, in 1652, Jane Varlett, 
a native of Utrecht in New Amsterdam. They had five 
children : Ephraim George, Casperus, Anne Margaretta, 
Judith, and Francisca ; all of whom were baptized in the 
Dutch Reformed Church. 

After Herrman with his family took up his abode at 
Bohemia Manor, the ensuing year was spent by him in com- 
pleting the map of Maryland, which is known as " Herrman's 
Map," and is said to be very accurate. It was published in 
London, and bore a medallion portrait of the author. He 
also spent much of his time following his profession as sur- 



BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 129 

veyor. And when in 1684 he felt the weight of years upon 
his shoulders, he invested his eldest son, Ephraim George, 
with the title of lord of the manor, and made his will, from 
which we quote the following regarding his burial: "That 
my Monument Stone, with jngraphen Letters of mee the 
first author of Bohemia Manour, shall be erected over my 
Sepulcher, which is to bee in my Vinyard uppon the Manour 
Plantation in Maryland." And again an interesting para- 
graph in which he refers to the entail of the estate: "With 
charge to all & every Inharitor and possessours of Bohemia 
Manour as abovesaid, that by their Entrie, they shall add to 
their Christian name, and Subscribe themselves, by their An- 
cestor's Name AUGUSTINE, or forfite their jnheritance to 
the next heir in Taile." He bequeathed to his younger son, 
Casperus, the strip of land called Bohemia Middle Neck, 
and to his three daughters a tract known as the "Three 
Bohemia Sisters." 

Herrman died shortly after, and was buried according to 
his desire ; and the slab of oolite stone over his grave bore 
the following inscription : 

AVGVSTINE HERMEN 

BOHEMIAN 

THE FIRST FOVNDER 

SEATER OF BOHEMIA MANOR 

Anno 1660 

This slab was afterward used as the door of a tomb which 
was erected by Richard Basset, a relative of the Herrmans, 
as a more fitting sepulchre for the bones of this remarkable 
man and his descendants ; but a few years since Richard Bay- 
ard had them removed to a cemetery on the banks of the Bran- 
dywine. The stone, thrown aside, became broken in several 
pieces, and now, crumbled by wind and weather and covered 
with moss, still lies near the site of the original burial-place. 



I30 BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 

It is interesting to note that during the Hfetime of the 
founder a portion of the manor was purchased for the 
purpose of founding a colony of Labadists. the only com- 
munit}' of that sect in America. They were a religious body 
of dissenters, living after a peculiar doctrine of their own. 
and bearing the name of their founder, John Labadie, a native 
of W'iewert in Denmark. Two of their number came to 
America in 1679 in search of a suitable spot upon which 
to build a colony. They travelled south in the companv of 
Ephraim Herrman, whom they had met in New York, and 
whom they converted to their creed. 

These men. by name Peter Sluyter and Jasper Danckers, 
kept a journal, which was brought to light not many years 
aofo, and in which thev recorded an unvarnished and decidedlv 
pessimistic account of their journey and of the people they 
met. They expressed their surprise at many of the ways 
and customs of the settlers, and especially at the Quakers, 
a number oi whom had made their abode along the Sassafras 
River. One entry states that they met several women travel- 
line together who had "forsaken husband, children, planta- 
tion, and all. and were going through the country- in order to 
quaked Sluyter and L^^anckers passed the night at Bohemia 
Manor, although they complained that "the skreeching of the 
wild geese and other wild fowl in the creek before the door 
prevented them from having a good sleep," and on their 
return from the South induced Augustine Herrman (much 
against his will) to sell them the goodly strip of land whereon 
they afterward colonized. This tract was some years later 
settled by the \'an Bibbers, who also purchased Augustine 
Manor, east of Bohemia and separated by what is known as 
the C^ld Choptank road, constructed by Casperus Herrman. 
and which was originally an Indian trail running from the 
Choptank River far into IVmnsylvania. 



BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 13 1 



Aiieustine Herrnian was exceediiiQ- wroth with his son for 
joining" the Labadists. and is said to have cursed him for his 
folly. Who can tell whether the curse of the old man rested 
upon the head of his son ? Certain it is that Ephraim George 
died a maniac shortly after his father's death. 

Both sons had settled on the Delaware some years previ- 
ously, and the hrst road constructed in that part of the 
country was from Bohemia Bridge to their residence, a dis- 
tance of twenty-two miles, and called for many years the 
"Old Man's Path." 

Ephraim held the office of clerk of the court of both 
Upland (which is now Chester) and New Castle, l^pon 
beino; seized with the dreadful malad\- which resulted in his 
death, the great estate passed to the second son, Casperus, 
who was also invested with the title to Little Bohemia, but 
who did not live long to enjoy the distinction of "lord of the 
manor." He was succeeded in turn by his son, Ephraim 
Augustine, who contributed much toward the amelioration 
of the land. He was a man of business, and for many 
years represented Cecil County in the Legislature. It was 
he who obtained the contract for building the second brick 
court-house (the first having been built by his father, Cas- 
perus Herrman, in 1692). and for which he obtained thirty- 
five thousand pounds of tobacco, and also three thousand 
pounds for two acres of ground upon the manor for "y^ build- 
ing of a court-house in said county." 

Upon the death of Ephraim Augustine Herrman the estate 
became involved in dispute amongst the various heirs, the 
great-grandchildren of the founder. Ephraim Augustine's 
only son had died in infancy, and of his two daughters, the 
eldest, Mary (of unsound mind), married a designing- lawyer, 
one John Lawson, who fell in love with her fortune, and who 
finally succeeded in inducing her to lease a large part of her 



132 



BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 



portion to his brother Peter, from whence it afterward passed 
into the hands of the Bassetts of Bohemia Ferry. His younger 
daughter married a man of good family, Peter Bouchell by 
name, whose granddaughter, Mary Ensor, married Colonel 
Edward Oldham, one of the bravest men of his day, and who 
served with great distinction in the Continental army under 




THE J'.OHEMIA I; 



General Greene. We find another noted descendant of this 
family in the wife of Benedict Arnold, who descended in a 
direct line (through Edward Shippen of Philadelphia) from 
Anna Margaretta, eldest daughter of Augustine Herrman. 

In 1778 the Legislature of Maryland, in conjunction with 
that of Delaware, passed an act authorizing the Court of 
Chancery to divide the estate between Peter Lawson, Charles 
Carroll (who held a mortgage on part of the land), Joseph 



BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS^^^^ 

^Ensor^dward Oldham, and Mary his wife. Charles Carroll 
sold his share in i793 to Joshua Clayton, Richard Bassett. 
and Edward Oldham. Shortly afterward James Bayard mar- 
ried the only daughter of Bassett, and thereby possessed - 
himself of the part of the manor still owned by his descend- 

ants 

Alas for the vanity of human wishes ! Had Augustine 
Herrman, in the full pride of his ambition, but known how 
soon the name of Herrman would be no more ! Even the 
house which he intended as the inheritance of many future 
generations no longer exists. The original manor-house 
pleasandy situated on the bank of the Bohemia, was built 
of brick brought from England after the manner of that day- 
one of those quaint, ramWing houses full of delightful nooks 
and corners, and most conspicuous for its great hall with the 
huo-e fireplace, over which hung the swords and flindocks, 
surrounded by many a trophy of the chase ; the hall where 
lord and lady dispensed warm-hearted hospitality-a hospi- 
tality that smacked of fine fat capon, with a surplus of good 
sack and old French brandy. 

Could we but picture to ourselves the many stately dames 
who have crossed that threshold to drink a dish of tea with 
the hostess from the rare blue and white china, and to gossip 
over the coming wedding or the last bit of news from the 
Old World just brought by the good ship in the harbor ! 

But all this belongs to the sunlight of another day. 
Durincr the last century the house was destroyed by fire, 
with e'verything that it contained. The blaze was seen for 
many miles, and might be discerned from the western shore 
of the Chesapeake. The forked flames leaped toward the 
lurid sky, casdng weird and fitful shadows over the surround- 
ine woodlands, like forms of the dusky natives returned to 
revel in the destruction. And amidst the hissing roar one 



134 BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 

might almost fancy they heard Augustine Herrman's wail of 
despair or the laugh of his maniac son. The portraits of 
many a bygone generation in ruff and periwig grew suddenly 
red with passion, and then, writhing and twisting, fell forward 
into the crackling flames. One picture was saved, a copy of 
which still hangs on the wall of the present manor-house, and 
is of deep interest as illustrating an incident in the life of the 
founder. The picture is that of Augustine Herrman standing 
beside his dying charger, and the story runs thus : Shortly after 
Herrman settled at Bohemia he had occasion to visit New 
Amsterdam, where, for some slight cause (which has long 
since been consigned to oblivion), he was arrested and im- 
prisoned. Feigning insanity, he begged that he might have 
the company of his horse, which request having been granted, 
watching his opportunity, he mounted, and horse and rider 
dashed through the great open window of the prison-cell and 
disappeared. He was closely pursued, but his good steed, a 
powerful swimmer, bore him safely over the North River and 
beyond pursuit, although it shortly afterward died from the 
exertion. It was to commemorate the valiant conduct of 
this noble animal that Herrman had the picture painted, 
the copy of which, and also that of his wife, is fortunately 
preserved. 

The portrait of Herrman is thus described : " His hair 
parts in the middle and falls in thick locks to his shoulders. 
He has a beardless face, prominent cheek-bones, firmly-set 
lips, and piercing eyes. He wears a straight-breasted, red- 
colored frock-coat, an ample white necktie that falls upon his 
bosom, and ruffles that are so full and long that they half 
cover his hands. One of his hands is besmeared with blood 
that flows from the nostrils of the panting charger at his side. 
The portrait of Madam Herrman is probably the only repre- 
sentation extant of that distinguished lady. Her hair is black, 



BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 135 



her forehead high, her nose sharp, and her mouth small. Her 
skirt is of a light-colored material, while her overskirt (which 
does not completely cover her dress) and its body are of 
green, — the latter being pleated. Her arms are bare from 




LADY HEKKMAN. 



the wrist to the elbows. Her dress is cut moderately low at 
the neck, where is a broad lace collar." 

Another relic of early Colonial times upon the manor 
(although not bearing interest as connected with the Herrman 
family) is a huge iron cross, thirty-five feet in length, which 



136 BOHEMIA MANOR AND THE HERRMANS. 



is kept at the Jesuit mission near the head of Bohemia River. 
This mission was originally established on the western shore, 
in St. Mary's County, but the present one was founded by 
the Rev. Father Mansell in 1704, who brought the cross over 
the bay with him. It is said to have been formerly brought 
to St. Mary's by the earliest settlers from England, probably 
with the thought that, entering upon a new life, they might 
plant the faith more firmly in their hearts by erecting this 
huge cross to the glory of their Redeemer. 

It is, perhaps, not generally well known that Edwin For- 
rest's great play, The Gladiator, was written by Dr. Bird in 
one of the farm-houses on Bohemia Manor. 

At the time of the division of the estate the manor 
consisted of some fifty plantations, each yielding a goodly 
revenue, but much of the land has now fallen into nesflect. 
The site of the original manor-house, overgrown with the 
vegetation of many years, is hardly distinguishable. The 
birds sing as blithely and the waters of the Bohemia dance 
as merrily in the sunlight as they did two hundred years ago, 
but the throbbing pulsations of life as it existed in the first 
Herrman's time have long been hushed. The hum of house- 
hold occupation, the friendly gathering, a merry party that 
tuned its laughter to the sweet tinkle of the spinnet, speak to 
us as the phantoms of a dream — 

"And round about his home the glory 
That bkished and bloomed, 
Is but the dim-remembered story 
Of the old time entombed." 

Edna Glenn. 



NOTES ON THE HERRMANS OF BOHEMIA. 



The eldest son of Augustine Herrman was Ephraim George. He married, in New York, 
3 September, 1679, Elizabeth Van Rodenburg, and died 1689. 

The second son of the first Lord of Bohemia was Casperus Herrman. He was married 
three times: first, to Susanna Huyberts; secondly, in New York, 23 August, 1682, to Anna 
Reyniers ; and thirdly, 31 August, 1696, to Katharine Williams. 

On June 3, 1690, his brother being dead, Casperus Herrman was formally granted and 
he assumed possession of the manor house. He died at the age of fifty-five years, leaving 
his estate to his only son. Colonel Ephraim Augustine Herrman. 

This Colonel Herrman married, first, Isabella, daughter of Maurice Trent of Pennsyl- 
vania, by whom he had two daughters — viz. Catharine and Mary. His second wife was 
named Araminta, by whom he had one child, a son, who survived his father but a few years 
and died without issue. 

Colonel Herrman's daughter, Mary, married John Lawson, and left no children ; and 
Catharine married Peter Bouchelle, and had a daughter Mary, who married, in 1757, Captain 
Joseph Ensor of Baltimore, Md., and had : Augustine Herrman Ensor, born 28 January, 1761, 
killed on his twenty-first birthday by being thrown from his horse ; Joseph Ensor, an idiot ; 
and Mary Ensor, who married, 21 November, 1 784(?), Colonel Edward Oldham of the Revo- 
lutionary army. Their children were : Maria, Elizabeth, Ann, Edward, and George Wash- 
ington. 

Of Augustine Herrman's daughters, the first, Anna Margaretta, married, 1680, Matthias 
Vanderheyden of Albany. Their daughter, Ariana, born 1690, married Hon. Thomas Bord- 
ley of Bordley Hall, Yorkshire, England, Attorney-general for Maryland, whose son, John 
Beale Bordley, was last Judge of the Admiralty of Maryland under the Provincial govern- 
ment and stepfather to General Mifflin of Pennsylvania. Ariana married, secondly, Edmund 
Jennings, Esq., of Annapolis, the son of Sir Edmund Jennings of Yorkshire, England, and 
died in 1 741, leaving a daughter, who married John Randolph of Virginia, and was mother 
to Edmund Randolph, Secretary of State under Washington. 

The second daughter of Augustine Herrman, Judith, married Colonel John Thompson, a 
Provincial judge. There are many descendants. 

The third daughter of Augustine Herrman, Francisca, was born 1662, and married 
Joseph Wood. 

Of one of the children of Judith Herrman a writer says : 

"This eldest son was Richard Thompson, born November i, 1667, who, like his father, 
became a centenarian several years before his death. Indeed, he lived so long that his 
neighbors began to think that he did not intend to die at all. And when he passed his 

137 



138 NOTES ON THE HERRMANS OF BOHEMIA. 

eightietb year witheut dying, and his ninetieth, and his one hundredth, and then his one 
hundred and fifth, and still did not die, either to distinguish him from the paternal cen- 
tenarian, or for some other reason, vulgar people called him ' old-one-hundred-and-five.' 

" Many years before this, in 1723, this same Richard Thompson leased for a term of 
twenty-one years, for one ear of Indian corn, one acre of his land near, if not bordering on, 
the present Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, near Pivot Bridge, to the ' Bohemia and Broad 
Creek Presbyterian congregation,' who erected thereon a church edifice." 

For additional information regarding the descendants of Augustine Herrman the reader 
is referred to Ancient Families of Bohemia Manor, by Rev. Charles Payson Mallery ; and 
The Thomas Family, by Rev. L. B. Thomas. 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN 
RENSSELAERS. 



Van RENc>^n,L..-):~K M 

'Albany, N. Y. 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN 
RENSSELAERS. 









TVANRtNSS 
DER OoLOuyl 




M<SSEL>.tH 



In Colonial days to the north and south of our city of 
Albany, upon either bank of the stately 
North River, divided as by a ribbon of 
clean silver, and stretching away across 
the gray-blue hills to eastward and west- 
ward, lay the great Dutch Patroonship 
of Rensselaerswyck. 

For four and twenty miles along the 
river-sides, and cross-wise a day's jour- 
ney, in all over seven hundred thousand 
acres of virgin earth, both meadow and 
upland, including the present counties I 
of Rensselaer, Albany, and a goodly van rensselaer arms, from 

r r^ 1 1 • 1 \ ,. , A CHURCH IN HOLLAND. 

portion oi Columbia, swept the splendid 

baronial domain of Jonkheer Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, the 

pearl-merchant of Amsterdam. 

An ancient survey of these famous possessions, made in 
1767, just one hundred and thirty years after the first pur- 
chase was bartered for with the Indians, is spread before the 
writer. This paper, engrossed "A Map of the Manor of 
Renselaerwick, by Jno. R. Bleeker, Surveyor," presents to 
us a detailed plot of the entire estate. We see that it was 
bounded on the north by the lands of two Scotchmen, Glenn 
and Rrktt, and one John Sayler, and came fair to within hear- 
ing of the gentle roar of the great Falls of Cohoes, whilst 

141 



142 THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 

below the line ran to the hoary Isle of Mofiemans in the 
Hudson. On the left hand, up stream, the manor extended 
past Helleberch to the wild " Huntersland," and to the left it 
overlapped Sherry Plain and the misty North Mountain. 

Conjointly with the dry figures of survey the map gives us 
a true and just account of the manorial settlements ; that is to 
say, the lord's tenants on the west side of the Hudson River, 
being in all, as heads of families, one hundred and forty-eight 
souls, and on the east side of the said water to the number of 
one hundred and thirty-three renters — the total roll, by fami- 
lies, of the farmers upon this vast feudal property being, in 
1767, two hundred and eighty-one, or about one thousand 
persons, all told, exclusive of the Patroon's household and a 
large train of negro slaves and redemption servants. It is 
said that formerly there was a larger number of persons living 
upon these broad acres. Amongst the old tenants who were 
at one time retainers of the historic Patroons are to be found 
many names of families whose descendants are now well known 
in New York society. Of such are the Van Alens, Lansings, 
Lespinards, Vroomans, Yates, Van Beurens, Bradstreets, 
Schermerhorns, Beekmans, Cuylers, Van Deusens, and a 
very host of others. 

The creator of this wide manor, which since the earliest 
time of its planting has stamped itself upon the early history 
of New York by the valor, learning, and wealth of its Colonial 
possessors, was one Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, who is styled in 
the records of his time the first Patroon of Rensselaerswyck. 

Kiliaen Van Rensselaer first saw the light of day in the 
flat garden-lands of Guilders, in the Dutch Republic, anno 
1587, and at an early age became a reputable merchant in the 
city of Amsterdam, where also he departed out of this life in 
the year of our Lord 1645. ^^ appears that he was of known 
ancestry and right gentle blood. Mrs. May King Van Rens- 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 143 

selaer, in TJie Van Rcnssclacrs of the Manor of Rensselaers- 
wyck, says : " Before coming to America the Van Rensselaers 
were people of importance in Holland, respected and honored 
by their countrymen ; they held many positions of trust, and 
their name fio-ures constantly as Burgomasters, Councillors, 
Treasurers, etc. in many of the important towns of their 
native country. The picture of Jan Van Rensselaer, which 
still hangs in the Orphan Asylum at Nykerk, represents him 
as a Jonkheer or Nobleman in the distinguishing dress of his 
class. Over the heads of the Regents in this picture hang 
small shields on which are displayed their coats-of-arms, mak- 
ing it perfecdy easy to identify Jonkheer Van Rensselaer, as 
these arms are identical with those borne by the family at the 
present day." 

An interesting tradition with regard to these arms exists, 
which, however, rests on no reliable foundation. It is said 
that on some festive occasion a grand illumination was dis- 
played in Holland. The V^an Rensselaer of that day ordered 
large iron baskets (which represented his crest) to be filled 
with infiammable materials, and placed on the gate-posts, 
house-tops, and every prominent position of both city and 
country residences. This was done with such brilliant effect 
as to call forth special commendation from the Prince of 
Orange, who, according to the custom of the times, when 
favors were esteemed and given instead of money, and the 
highest one was an augmentation of anything pertaining to 
the coat-of-arms, begged Van Rensselaer to henceforth adopt 
as his motto "Omnibus Effulgeo " (or 'T outshine all"), 
instead of the Dutch motto referring to the cross on the 
shield of " Nieman Zonder" (or "No man without a cross"). 

The first of the family referred to is Hendrick Woters 
Van Rensselaer — which means Henry Woters living at, or 
of, Rensselaer — who must have been alive about 1450, and 



144 THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 



was possessed of the Reddergold or lordship of Rensselaer, 
an estate situate about three miles south-east of Nykerk, 
and which anciently conferred nobility upon the fortunate 
holder. 

The various ranks and social conditions existing at that 
time in Holland are very difficult to understand. It appears 
that a title frequently went with the estate, which, as we have 
observed, entailed a new family name. 

These estates, according to their greater or lesser import- 
ance, carried a social status of corresponding degree ; which 
was not a nobility in the sense which we know it now, as in 
England, but rather like the title of the Scotch lairds, a matter 
of courtesy due the holders of large tracts of land. 

The early Dutch emigrants to New Amsterdam called 
themselves after the towns or cities from whence they came ; 
thus, a man from Nieukirk was called Van Nieukirk, whilst 
he from Dalen wrote himself down Van Dalen. This practice 
has caused considerable confusion in Dutch genealogies, and 
shows the absence of fixed surnames amongst the common 
people of Holland of that day. 

It seems true, however, that the Van Rensselaers were 
really of considerable importance in the country from whence 
they came, and, doubtless, held other patents to gentility 
besides that conferred by the accumulation of money by mer- 
cantile ventures or the purchase of landed estates. 

A descendant of Kiliaen, who recendy travelled to the 
place, writes : "There was scarcely a church that I visited in 
Guildersland that did not have, somewhere, the Van Rensse- 
laer arms on the tombstones, either alone or quartered with 
others." How powerful and eminently respectable this old 
Dutch family must have been in the land of its nativity may 
be gathered from this fact, if from no other circumstance. 

The old Hendrick Woters married, 'tis said Swene, daugh- 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 145 



ter unto a certain rich Van Imyck of Hemegseet, by which 
lady, in due course of time, he had several children. Accord- 
ing to the records extant, they were as follows : Johannes 
Hendrick, of whom presently ; Geertrui, a plump and fair 
Holland maiden, who became the wife of the honorable advo- 
cate Swaaskens ; Walter Hendrick ; Anna, who espoused a 
son of the ancient house of Bygimp ; and Betye, who married 
one M. Noggen, The eldest son, the Jonkheer Johannes 
Hendrick Van Rensselaer, took to wife the Lady Derykerbia 
\ an Lupoel, and had, besides numerous other children, one 
Hendrick, who became father to Kiliaen, the first Patroon 
and founder of Rensselaerswyck in the New Netherlands, his 
mother beincr the beautiful Maria Pasrao-t. 

In what year Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, afterward the 
Patroon, first established himself as a merchant in Amsterdam 
does not appear certain, but we do know that in an amazing 
brief space he became one of the most opulent and enter- 
prising men of that town of gables and canals. 

In fune, 162 i, the Great West India Company blossomed 
officially into existence. In the same month it was recognized 
by those " High and Mighty Lords," the council of the States 
General of Holland, and without any delay took in hand the 
adventures for which it had been organized. 

The principal business expected of the Company at this time 
was the capture by its vessels, numbering at one tim.e upward 
of seventy battleships, of Spanish treasure-galleons, and in this 
occupation — or profession, if you will — its servants were singu- 
larly proficient and eminently successful. Not the wildest 
dream that avarice could press upon a miserly brain might 
outweigh the gold, jewels, and silver thus won by bloodletting 
and the wholesale splitting of throats. Within one year the 
company is said to have earned a dividend of over fifty per 
cent., and soon after the amount divided amono;st its stock- 
10 



146 THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 

holders was much greater. The orig-inal capital of the com- 
pany increased five million dollars in two years. 

This gigantic and warlike trading company was trusted 
with large and very dangerous powers and discretions. "It 
was authorized to conquer provinces and countries, form alli- 
ances (at its own risks) with native princes, build forts, pro- 
ject plantations, appoint officers, and administer justice, sub- 
ject always to the approval of the States General. Its ad- 
mirals on distant seas were authorized to act independently 
of administration." 

The West India Company was overlorded by a council or 
" Colleofe of the XIX.," " consistino- of nineteen delegates 
from five chambers of managers located in five principal 
Dutch cities." Of these nineteen august personages. Am- 
sterdam, holding a disproportionate power, sent eight ; these 
eight men were dc facto the governing power of the company, 
and of them one was our Patroon, Kiliaen V^an Rensselaer — 
a name famous in ancient times in the Low Countries, and 
here intimately welded into the history of New York. 

The successes of the West India Company, although at 
first marvellous through the piracy of its captains upon the 
Spanish Main, were not destined to continue for all time. 
Holland and Spain did not always remain enemies, nor did 
England and other nations view with calmness the sinking of 
their merchantmen or the looting of their treasure ; for the 
Dutch seamen were not particular regarding a ship's flag, and 
usually acted upon the then popular policy that dead men tell 
no tales. The liberty to wage private war, ostensibly against 
Spain, was curtailed by the States General. With this privi- 
lege taken away, and with vast pay-rolls to fill, this gigantic 
privateering monopoly was brought from unlimited opulence 
to the verge of bankruptcy within a few years. 

From their own private means Kiliaen Van Rensselaer 



'THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 14; 



and other directors of the company were forced to repeatedly 
bolster up its credit, and the end was not yet. Whence any 
adequate income might be honestly derived was a problem 
which continued to disturb the chamber for some time. It is 
true that at the formation of the company provision was made, 
and the subscribers had pledged themselves, to plant colonies 
in America and " to further the increase of trade by peopling 
the New Netherlands," but beyond the seating of a few hun- 
dred adventurers, many of whom froze to death during the 
first winter or were so imprudent as to get themselves 
scalped by the natives, the purchase of Manhattan Island for 
a capital, and the plotting of a large portion of North Amer- 
ica inland to the tide-waters of the Pacific into an imaginary 
province, nothing (if we except a little fur-trade) had been 
accomplished. In this predicament the company had resort 
to a clever and well-considered scheme for settling some of 
its wild American possessions. 

This plan, which in June, 1629, assumed the form of a 
" Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions," had in view the 
persuasion of the better class to emigrate, with their families 
and servants, to the company's lands in New York. The 
charter agreed to make a feudal lord, under the designation 
of Patroon, of any person, interested as a shareholder in the 
company, who would found a settlement of fifty adults in the 
Province. Even this inducement was not, at first, a sufficient 
stimulus to the Dutch to emigrate from peaceful, prosperous 
homes to a wilderness filled with painted savages and wild 
beasts. 

It was under these most vexatious circumstances that 
Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, yet a director in the company, 
showed himself to be prompt, adventurous, and enterprising. 
An example was needed if the new plan for colonization might 
be expected to prove successful as well as attractive. Whilst 



148 THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 



the ratification of the Charter of Privileges was as yet uncer- 
tain KiHaen sent out from Amsterdam three of his own vessels 
on a private trading- venture to New Netherlands, instructing 
his agents to select whilst there, and if possible to secure for 
him and others from the natives, some choice locations for the 
suggested baronies. His servants, accordingly, probably with 
a view of obtaining at least one that would prove satisfactory 
to their employer, selected three immense plots of ground 
within the supposed jurisdiction of the West India Company. 

One of these vast plantations was in the present State of 
Delaware, and called by them " Swaenendael," or the Valley 
of Swans ; another was on the North River, afterward known 
as Rensselaerwyck ; and the third was in the Province of 
West Jersey and called Pavonia, which, being interpreted, 
signifies the Land of the Peacocks, The first and last tracts 
mentioned do not appear to have been retained by the Van 
Rensselaers, or at least for any length of time. It is suggested 
that they were part of the tracts transferred to the partners 
of Kiliaen, who had shares in the Patroon's trading adven- 
tures. The patents from the Indians for some of these lands 
were executed in 1630, and additional purchases were added 
to the Hudson River property some few years after that date. 
Upon the site of the old Patroonship have since sprung into 
life the many bustling towns, villages, and cities of that sec- 
tion of New York State, among them being Lansingburg, 
Greenbush, Troy, and Albany. " Kiliaen \"an Rensselaer did 
not, at first, visit his plantations in person, but so early as 
the fall of 1630 over twenty homes had been established upon 
his manor, and under the control of a discreet and prudent 
director or steward the estate rapidly assumed an entirely 
prosperous condition. 

It is claimed by some, but denied by others, that the first 
Patroon, called Kiliaen I , visited his American domain in 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE \\4N RENSSELAERS. 149 



1637. If he did so — which, without being absolutely certain, 
seems probable — he doubtless returned soon after his arrival 
to his home in Holland, leaving to his servants the manage- 
ment of the Patroonship. Who he commissioned as first 
steward we are not informed, but that he was shrewd and 
clever, and a person well accustomed to manage and make 
friends with the Indians, is very cer- 
tain from the results of his sway. 
Wlien the manor was only half a 
score years old, whilst every other 
part of the surrounding country 
was harassed, w-e are told, by cruel 
Avars waged by the savages, abso- 
lute peace and tranquillity con- 
tinued at Rensselaerwyck. "The 
region about Manhattan Island," 
says a writer, "was desolated, and 
the terror-stricken inhabitants who 
escaped the scalping-knife huddled 
in the fort for protection. The 
winter of 1643 ^^''^'^ one of the 
coldest on record ; the suffering 
people were half clad and half 
starved — in absolute despair." 

It was at this moment, we read, that one of Kiliaen Van 
Rensselaer's ships, freighted with a cargo for the manor 
w^arehouse, entered the bay. The governor, Kieft, applied 
to the captain for clothing for his men, and, being refused, 
seized and searched the vessel, and, finding amongst the 
lading a large supply of guns and powder not manifested, 
promptly seized everything on board. The good people at 
Rensselaerswyck swore long and loudly, but the governor's 
jDeople in the fort rejoiced at their good luck. The loss, how- 




JAN VAN RENSSl.l.AKK i iK HOM.AMl. 
(From painting in Univttrsity of Nykerk.) 



ISO THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 

ever, was probably made good to the Patroon by the West 
India Company. 

KiHaen Van Rensselaer died, as we have observed, in 
1640. He was, it seems, twice married. His first wife was 
a fair lady of Holland called Hillegonda Van Bylant, and his 
second spouse, to whom he was married in 1627, was Anna 
Van Weley, daughter unto the right worthy Johannes Van 
Weley and dame Eleanor Haukens. By the first of these 
wives Kiliaen had one son, Johannes Van Rensselaer, who 
took to wife his own first cousin, Elizabeth Van Twiller, and 
had Kiliaen. By his second wife the first Patroon had, besides 
other children, a son, Jeremias, afterward a director of the 
barony. Johannes, the eldest child, became in time the 
second Patroon, but, owing to circumstances, did not come out 
from Holland to assume charge at once, and, his half-brothers 
being very young at the time of their father's decease, one 
Herr Brandt Arent Van Slechtenhorst was selected as a^ent 
of the Van Rensselaer estate in the New Netherlands, and 
also acted as steward of the Patroonship. This person, 
having the interests of the family very deeply and mightily 
at heart, and also possessing, to a very great degree, an 
exaggerated sense of his own importance and of the dignity 
of the baronial government of which he was the temporary 
representative, at once proceeded to involve himself in a 
series of legal entanglements with the Provincial govern- 
ment, at the head of which, unfortunately, the wooden-legged 
and wooden-headed Stuyvesant at that moment presided. 

This quarrel, which threatened at times to involve the 
Province in a small civil war, and which had also its ridic- 
ulous side and absurd situations, arose out of a very trifling 
occurrence. It seems that before the first Patroon had pur- 
chased his manor the West India Company had secured the 
title from the Indians, and fondly imagined themselves mas- 



THE PA TROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. T 5 I 

ters of a certain plot of land including a portion of the 
present limits of Albany, and had erected thereon a frontier 
fort and trading-station, where they kept a garrison, and 
which served to keep open communication with the settle- 
ments beyond. This fort was afterward a part of the Bever- 
wyck colony. It happened, however, by one of those over- 
sights which frequently occurred by reason of the primitive 
surveying of that day, that the Rensselaer grant here sur- 
rounded and included this trading-post and fort. The loca- 
tion was desirable for buildings, and the Rensselaerwyck 
people lost no time in availing themselves of the position. 
This course failed to meet the approval of the governor, who 
promptly warned Van Slechtenhorst not to erect any houses 
or edifices within six hundred paces of the fort, which having 
been disregarded, an officer of the law was despatched to 
prevent the building by the V^an Rensselaers of a blockhouse 
or fort on the island of Beeren and within the forbidden 
territory. The house, however, was completed in defiance 
of the mandate, cannon were planted upon the ramparts, 
and the ensign of the house of Van Rensselaer hoisted over 
the stockade. 

It was not long before the quarrel took a more serious 
turn. This was the firing upon the sloop "Good Hope," 
commanded by the valiant Lookerman and flying the flag of 
the Prince of Orange, which was promptly shot away when the 
boat refused to dip her colors to the Van Rensselaer pennant. 
This action of the rash Van Slechtenhorst brought Stuyvesant 
to Beverwyck post haste, with a troop of soldiers at his back. 
The ofovernor, havintr arrived at the manor, summoned the 
director to come out of his fort and be taken to New York 
under arrest ; which invitation was politely declined. Then 
the warlike governor swore by the gods that he would have 
him out at all costs ; so he trained his cannon on the Patroon's 



152 THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 

fort, and immediately Van Slechtenhorst covered the governor 
with the same \ an Rensselaer swivels that had done such 
execution on the "Good Hope." It became evident that if 
any of the guns should be accidentally discharged, loss of life 
might follow, and Stuyvesant probably recollected the excel- 
lent proficiency of Van Slechtenhorst's gunner and the disad- 
vantage of sailing throuo^h life with hvo wooden leo-s. The 
situation was, indeed, a most trying one. The governor was 
well known to be one of the most stubborn men alive in the 
Province, and his opponent equally so, and, to boot, an attor- 
ney learned in the law, who was perfectly well aware that he 
had the law on his side if ever it should condescend to pene- 
trate that far into the wilderness. The two powers might 
have remained thus in a deadlock for a considerable space 
of time had not some one suggested that a friendly talk and 
smoke, with a few well-timed and fatherly warnings, might 
serve to brintr Van Slechtenhorst to terms. This sucrcrestion 
seems to have commended itself to Stuyvesant, and he forth- 
with despatched a flag of truce, together \\'ith an order 
under the broad seal to the Patroon's aeent summoning him 
to a conference. The summons was obeyed. After the usual 
exchange of diplomatic courtesies the governor explained 
that Van Slechtenhorst was liable to prosecution for con- 
tempt of authority, whilst the latter suggested that Stuyvesant 
was trespassing upon the land of the Patroon. Then the 
governor endeavored to point out that the buildings erected 
were objectionable and extremely dangerous to the fort, giv- 
ing sundry and good reasons, in his judgment, therefor, 
according to the rules of war, and further was mightily 
pleased to have the opportunit)- to explain to \'an Slechten- 
horst a learned dissertation on the setting of sieges and plans 
of attack and defence of fortified places, and likewise his own 
experience in such matters gathered in the Dutch wars. 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE \'AN RENSSELAERS. 153 



Although it is pretty evident that Van Slechtenhorst was 
not, at heart, a great fighter, though brave enough withal, yet 
he was a very considerable la\v)-er, and his knowledge of the 
law was of the o^reatest assistance to him in this case. Pie 
coolly informed Stuyvesant that the land upon which the 
buildiny^s stood, if not the fort, belono-ed to the Patroon of 
Rensselaerwyck. and that he could build upon it anything he 
chose and wherever he desired. He also pointed out that 
the ancient usages and privileges of the Patroonship were 
bound to be respected, not only by the public in general, 
but by the governor and their High Mightinesses the States 
General of Holland. This was too much for Stuyvesant, 
who promptly worked himself into a most frightful temper ; 
which was a very bad thing, indeed, to do under the circum- 
stances. Hot words followed, and the governor was so o\er- 
come with wrath and indignation that he re-embarked his little 
army and returned to New York. 

\"an Slechtenhorst, remaining for the present the victor, 
proceeded to carry matters with a very high hand, and took 
every occasion to annoy the little garrison left in the Albany 
fort. He even proceeded so far as to make a personal 
attack upon Stuyvesant in the shape of a funny criticism on 
the wording of the governor's despatches and legal forms. 
These actions so aroused Stuyvesant that he despatched a 
goodly force to arrest the director and demolish things gen- 
erally. The Indians, long attached to the Van Rensselaers, 
now took a hand in the quarrel, and it was wath difficulty that 
they could be prevented from decorating their w-igwams with 
the scalplocks of the Dutch soldiers in the fort. Their excite- 
ment caused the expedition to return, and so \'an Slechten- 
horst was again left master of the situation, which had now^ 
become extremely interesting. 

The Amsterdam chamber of the West India Company, 



154 THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 



duly informed by Stuyvesant of this standing news, presently 
took a part in the fight. They were asked to take sides, 
and unanimously they decided against the Patroon's steward. 
Young Jan Baptist Van Rensselaer, brother to the Patroon, 
was by this time on the ground, and he upheld Van Slechten- 
horst in his further resistance to the governor's orders. Troops 
were sent to the manor, legal forms and placards were posted 
and torn down, Bags hoisted and struck, musketry volleys fired, 
and several persons, including the steward, who had in the 
mean time been arrested and escaped, badly beaten. No 
one, however, seems to have been seriously injured. 

In the end, the violent Van Slechtenhorst was captured in 
his own house and taken to New York, where he remained 
under arrest at Staten Island for many months awaiting trial. 
The cluster of houses which caused such a disturbance was 
known as Beverwyck, the genesis of the present Albany, and 
became, through these complications, practically estranged 
from the Van Rensselaer estate, althouo-h it was not until 
after the English came into possession that the old quarrel 
was satisfactorily settled in a business-like manner by the 
purchase of the rights of the Van Rensselaers over the land 
under dispute. This agreement was arrived at in 1686. 

Jan Baptist Van Rensselaer, whom we have referred to 
above, became the next director of Rensselaerswyck, acting 
in the interests of his half-brother Johannes, although he had 
but just arrived of age. Another brother. Rev. Nicholaus 
Van Rensselaer, seems to have joined Jan Baptist in the 
Province about this time. The former had been licensed by 
King Charles I. of England to perform services in the West- 
minster Dutch Church, and brought with him letters from the 
Duke of York. He espoused Alida Schuyler, who after his 
death, at Albany in 1673, niarried Robert Livingston, the 
first of the American family of that famous surname and 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 155 



race. It may not be out of place here to note that she was 
the granddaughter of the fiery old director Van Slechten- 
horst, from whom, by the way, many of the present New 
York families trace their descent. 

Jeremias Van Rensselaer, an extremely handsome and 




JEREMIAS VAN RENSSELAER. 



talented man, on the return to Holland of Jan Baptist in 
1658, assumed the directorship and took charge of the busi- 
ness affairs of the estate. He was a person of singular 
executive ability and extraordinary skill in politics, and 



156 THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 



proved most attractive to the Indians, with whom he was 
able to increase the trade of the manor. He became presi- 
dent of the Landtag in New Amsterdam shortly before the 
surrender of the Province to the English Crown. He 
espoused Maria, the charming daughter of Oloff Stevenson 
Van Cortlandt, and left many descendants famous in the 
annals of New York State. Of his children, Kiliaen, born 
in 1663, afterward became Patroon, and married Maria Van 
Cortland, who married, secondly. Dominie Mellon. Kili- 
aen's son, Stephen, born in 1707, became, upon the death 
of his father in 17 19, lord of the manor of Rensselaer. This 
Stephen, who died in i 747, took to wife Elizabeth Groesbeck, 
and was succeeded in the Patroonship by his son and heir, 
another Stephen, who was born in 1742 and died in 1769. 
It was this Patroon who built the fine old Van Rensselaer 
home yet standing. 

The Van Rensselaer manor-house, built in the year 1765, 
as we are informed by the conspicuous letters forged out of 
wrought iron and fastened on one of the outer walls, stands, 
now desolate, on a plain near the Hudson River, not far dis- 
tant from the site of the old Delavan House in Albany. It is 
said that this historic mansion was built upon the foundations 
of an ancient brick manorial residence erected by the first 
Patroons of Rensselaerswyck. How true this is it is difficult 
to say. The present dwelling was commenced and finished 
(except the modern wings) by Stephen \^an Rensselaer, 
whose wife was the daughter of Philip Livingston, a Signer of 
the Declaration of Independence. The architecture is simple 
and Colonial, but elegant in appearance, especially amid its sur- 
rounding grove of grand old forest trees. It is a very charm- 
ing place now, and in its day must have been magnificent. 
Although still in possession of the descendants of its early 
owners, it has not been inhabited for a number of years. 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 157 



The house is approached from the lodge-gate through an 
avenue shaded by rows of ancient trees. The entrance-hall is 
thirty-three feet wide and is decoi'ated with the identical paper 
brought from Holland at the time the house was built, having 
the appearance of old fresco-painting. On either side of the 
hall are apartments some thirty feet wide. There are the 







7^^ 



THE WALL-PAPER AT THE MANOR-HOUSE. 



great drawing-rooms, the state bed-room, and the spacious 
iibrar)^ which was formerly lined with rare volumes, and in 
which the bookcases, of highly-polished wood, occupy at least 
seventy feet of wall-space. All of the ceilings are very lofty, 
and fine old wood carvings abound upon every side. On the 
left of the main hall, near the entrance, is a large ball-room, 
and back of this was the living-room of the family, whence a 
charmino; view of the lawn and o-arden could be obtained. 



158 THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 



Leading up from here is the great staircase, said to have 
been manufactured in Amsterdam. Beyond is the dining- 
hall, running from front to back and as wide as the main 
hall. Here, doubtless, formerly hung those interesting por- 
traits of the earlier members of the Van Rensselaer family 
now so widely scattered amongst their various descendants. 




IHK liiii)K\VAV AT THK MANOR-HOUSE. 



In this old dining-hall, we are told, was held many a rare 
feast that had almost regal splendor. 

The mansion has a laro^e basement, with kitchen, cellars, 
wine-vaults, and, in fact, an arrangement similar to that of 
any English country-house. The upper stories are divided 
into some score of bed-chambers, whilst the second floor 
corresponds in rooms and hall, but of course for different 
uses, to the first floor. 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE I'AJV KENSSELAERS. 159 



Seldom has a house a more splendid history or romantic 
origin than this relic of feudal splendor and Colonial hospi- 
tality. Erected upon or near by the site of the first manor- 
house, it recalls the stirring scenes enacted in old Stuyvesant's 
time, of which, in part, we have spoken. Here in the earlier 
days of the manor, when its Patroons were really veritable 
feudal lords and possessed nearly as much power, both 
judicial and military, as any old Norman baron, within his 
own fort, with his own cannon frowning through the stockade 
manned by his own armed vassals, under his absolute com- 
mand, and with the pennant of the Van Rensselaers fluttering 
in the breeze, the Patroon or his director accepted the alle- 
giance of his subjects, administered justice in civil suits and 
criminal cases, and on occasions, as we have seen, defied to 
the last breath the authorities of the Province. After the 
erection of the new manor-house, in 1765, the tenants flocked 
hither to tender anew their oath of fealty to the Patroon, and 
we can fancy the motley crowd — the Verplancks, Van Vies, 
Van Den Bergs, Van Olinds, Crupelbosses, Woomers, Hogh- 
telings, Cranels, and many dozens of others — doing homage 
within the Qrreat hall for their lands and tenements. As in 
the Middle Ages in England and in our own day in Ireland, 
the tenants upon this extensive estate were not, however, all 
peacefully disposed, for we read from Lord CJiatJiani s Clip- 
pings^ July 3d, 1766: "The following letter is just received 
from Claverack, near Albany, dated June 27th: 'For some 
months past a mob has frequently assembled and ranged the 
eastern parts of the Manor of Renselaer. Last week they 
appeared at Mr. Livingston's with some proposals to him, 
but he being from home they returned to Mr, Renselaer's 
sons about two miles from Claverack, when not finding him 
at home they used some insulting words, and left a message 
for Mr. Renselaer that if he did not meet them the next day 



l6o THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 



at their rendezvous they would come to him. On the 26th 
the sheriff of Albany with fifteen men under his command 
went to disperse the rioters, who were assembled, it is sup- 
posed to the number of sixty, in a house on the manor. On 
the sheriff's advancing to the house they fired upon him and 
shot off his hat and wig, but he escaped unhurt. Many shots 
were exchanged on both sides : of the militia one man, Mr. 
Cornelius Tenbrooke of Claverack, was killed and seven 
wounded ; of the rioters three were killed (two of whom 

were of the ringleaders) and many wounded Colonel 

Renselaer's horse was killed under him.' " 

The fame of this great barony and the reputed wealth of 
its lords, together with the great popularity which they con- 
tinued to enjoy, extended even to New York, which in those 
days was a far-off journey, and it is said that when the people 
of that place got wind that the Patroon was in town, they 
lined Broadway to view him as he passed in his coach-and- 
four with liveried footmen in great powdered wigs, and the 
Van Rensselaer arms glittering on the panels of his gilded 
coach, as it he were some foreign nobleman. 

Stephen Van Rensselaer, the sixth Patroon of Rensse- 
laerswyck, was born in the manor-house in 1765, being son 
of Stephen and Catherine Livingston. He was educated 
first at a school in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and then sent to 
Princeton, but afterward removed to Cambridge, Massachu- 
setts, where he graduated with high honors in 17S2. At the 
early age of nineteen years he married the accomplished 
daughter of General Philip Schuyler. 

Stephen Van Rensselaer took a very active part in the 
politics of his country and State. He was elected to the 
State Assembly in the year 1789 by a popular vote, and in 
1790 he was sent to the State Senate. He became lieu- 
tenant-governor of New York in 1795, and again in 1798. 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. r6i 



He was fond of out-door exercises, and as late as 1819, 
with De Witt Clinton and Goiiverneur Morris, he rode on 
horseback from Albany to Lake Erie, being one of the 




STl rilKN VAX RENSSELAER, THE LAST TATROON. 

commissioners appointed to ascertain a route for the Erie 
Canal. 

On the breaking out of the War of 181 2, Stephen Van 
Rensselaer was appointed commander-in-chief of the New 
York militia, and in company with his kinsman, Major (after- 
ward Colonel) Solomon Van Rensselaer, who was appointed 
second in command, he left the manor-house for the fron- 
tier near Niagara. His command saw hot fighting, and was 
11 



1 62 THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 

present at the storming of Oueenstown, where Colonel Van 
Rensselaer was severely wounded. Solomon \^an Rens- 
selaer had previously seen hard service, and had been with 



DOORWAY IN THE MANOR-HOUSE. 



Mad Anthony Wayne in Ohio during the Indian War, and 
had covered himself with honor at the batde of Maumee 
Rapids in 1 794, whilst still a lad, in a brilliant cavalry charge 
in which he was badly wounded. 

After the War of 181 2, General Stephen Van Rensselaer 



THE PATROONSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 163 

was a member of Congress during the period between the 
years 1823 and 1829. He held many pubHc offices and trusts, 
and was universally esteemed. By his first wife he had only 
one son, Stephen. By his second wife, Cornelia Patterson,' 



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SOLOMON VAN RENSSELAER. 



daughter of Judge Patterson of the Supreme Court, whom he 
married in 1800, he had nine children, and at his death the 
great Patroonship was divided between them. Stephen, the 
son by the first wife, inherited by his father's will the manor- 



1 64 THE PATROOXSHIP OF THE VAX REXSSELAERS. 

house and considerable land upon the Albany side of the 
river. 

Upon the decease of the last Patroon ot Rensselaersw\ck 
the manor as a Patroonship ceased to have the semblance of 
an existence. Its ending, indeed, was sad. The indulgence 
of Stephen \'an Rensselaer had permitted a large number of 
the tenants to become much in arrears tor rent. An eftbrt to 
collect the sums due the heirs roused the resentment of the 
people upon the estate, and they offered an armed resistance. 
Troops, ordered out by the governor, were found necessar)" 
to allay the disturbance, and the circumstance was discussed 
all over the United States. Ihe State Constitution of Xew 
York in 1846 having- abolished such feudal tenures, a laree 
portion of Rensselaerswyck was changed into freeholds, the 
lessees Q-ivinof mortoaores for the amounts of the rents due 
and the assessed value of the lands, and receiving deeds for 
the farms formerly leased. The acceptance h\ the \'an Rens- 
selaer famih' of such legislation legalized the act. as did the 
acceptance, b\ the Penn heirs, ratify the otherwise illegal 
action of the Assembly of Pennsylvania in earlier times. 
Thus did a large portion of the Patroonship founded bv old 
Kiliaen \'an Rensselaer, the jonkheer and merchant of Am- 
sterdam, pass into profane hands. 

Stephen \'an Rensselaer, the eldest son of the last Patroon, 
and the fortunate possessor of the manor-house, married Har- 
riet E. Bayard. By him the house was repaired and two wings 
added, but otherwise it remains unchanged. It continued his 
place of abode during a large part of his life. 



THE PATROOXSHIP OF THE VAN RENSSELAERS. 165 



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ROSEWELL. 



Stairway at Rosewell. 



ROSEWELL. 



V 




' isr%s %-,y 




In the heart of Gloucester County, Virginia, on the flat 
field-lands, with barely a 
gentle slope to where 
the lazy waters of Car- 
ter's Creek mingle lan- 
guidly with York River, 
the house of Rosewell, 
stately even in its deep 
humiliation, stands rot- 
tine to an inevitable and 
speedy doom. 

No home in the Old 
Dominion, of equal age, 
was its peer in size or 
hospitality in the pleas- 
ant days of yore, and 
the wreck, on its wea- 
therbeaten and wrinkled 
front, bears the impress 
of a grand old past. 

Dismantled now and 
scarcely habitable, with a dismal "flavor of mild decay" per- 
vading its halls and passage-ways, as if the sickly malarial 
damp creeping up from the river had bored to the very mar- 
row of its wooden bones, this relic of Colonial Virginia, once 
the pride of its fair lords, shivers out the last years of the 
span of life allotted it, neglected and forgotten. 

171 



■ A VEFvTUOUS l.l FE ^ COOD,P-E.t) AG E 
PeRFVMED T£ NEMORJskJFFRANClSPACE 



O" Ocfl37£'i^ODOM [675 



ARMS OF PAGE OF BEDFONT, FROM TOMB OF 
FRANCIS PAGE. 



172 ROSE WELL. 



Near by the mansion lie shattered the tombs of its ancient 
owners, and upon the stained and mossy marbles die curious 
can still faintly trace fragments of the quaint inscriptions 
graven long- years ago by the clinking cliisel of some Old 
Mortality. 

Of the first holders of Rosewell. their ancestr}-. and of the 
place itself much might be written of interest to the student 
of American histor)-. and many facts recorded which are but 
briefiy referred to in the following pages. 

Some fourteen miles out from the great bustling town 
of London, in the parish of Bedfont and County of Middle- 
sex. England, rests the very old church of St. Mar)-. The 
inquisitive Lyson thus incidentally mentions this curious and 
respectable landmark: "In the churchyard are two yews cut 
in topiar\- work, among which are figures exhibiting die date 
1 704. The tops o\ the trees are formed into the shape of 
peacocks." The church building is believed, indeed, to be 
most venerable, and. on account of the "dog-teeth" orna- 
mentation of the doorways and arches, is said to be of early 
Norman architecture. The peacocks spoken of by the 
learned antiquary, to which is attached an odd old legend, 
still remain and are cared for as of yore. 

It was from this immediate locality that a number of the 
ancestors of die first families of \'irginia came, and among 
them Colonel John Page."^ grandfather of the builder of 
Rosewell. whose posterity have not been unknown in the 
histor\- o\ Mrginia and our country- at large. Within the 
chancel oi the unique English church above referred to there 
was formerly a marble slab bearing in letters quaintly cut. 
this epitaph : 

* The Editor has l^en much assisted in the preparation of this article by the work of 
Richard Channing Moore rage. M. D.. of New York, whose carefully compiled Geni-alogy 
0/ tki- /'.Jj.v fiiwily in llt-^nia has been very freely consulted. 



liOSE WELL. 



173 



••A viRrrors i.ifk ^r (.uH)n Di.n acu: 

PERFVMED THE MEMORY OF FRANCIS PAGE 

OB OC'P^ 13 AN'XO DOM. 167S 

ET .ETATIS SV.E 84. 

EX DONO JOHAXXIS PAGE FIT,IJEIUS DE 

COMIFA IT' EPOR. IX VIRGIXIA MERCATORIS." 




COLONEL JOHN TACE. 



Above these lines the old stone-cutter wrought with cunning 
hand, in high relief, the arms of the Pages of Bedfont — 
namely, o>i a field or, ti /'ess danccttc defzcccii tJircc martlets, 
azure, i^ntliiii a bordiire of the last tiuetiire ; and also the 
family crest : a denii-horse foreene per pale daueette, or and 



174 ROSE WELL. 



azure. This monument, the loving tribute of Colonel lohn 
Page of York County. \ irginia, to his father's memor)-. is 
almost the sole record remaining to us regarding the English 
ancestry of the builder of Rosewell. for the absence of regis- 
ters of Bedfont parish prior to 1678, and the destruction by 
fire of the wills covering this district of England, render an 
extended genealogy difficult, if not impossible, at the present 
time. 

After a very long search, undertaken for Dr. Page of New 
York, some years since, the Heralds" Ofhce in London found 
itself unable to ascertain with certainty the ancestry of the 
Francis Page above mentioned. "=' The conclusions arrived at 
by the London Heralds at that time, however, agree with the 
result of more recent investigations made by the writer, who 
is of the opinion that a careful examination of certain records, 
apparently overlooked by others, might produce the evidence 
necessary to clear up the doubtful points. It is. however, 
very certain that the Page family had long resided in Bed- 
font, and were of the gentry ot England. It also seems 
apparent that Francis Page was a brother to one Matthew 
Page, upon whose brass in Bedfont Church may be read the 
following lines : 

" HERE LYETH VE BODY OF MATHEW PAGE 
GEXr WHO DECEASED YE FIRST OF FEB^v 

AXO DXI 1 63 1. TOG ETHER WITH HIS 

LOYIXG MOTHER ISABELL PAGE WHO DYED 

YE 9 OF lANA^RY ANO : 1629. WHICH MATHEW 

PAGE GAYE AT HIS DECEASE TO YE POORE 

OF THIS PARISHE YE SYMME OF TWENTY 

POYND FOR EYER. BEING AGED 37. 

* This Francis Page must have been a man of considerable property. The return to the 
parliamentary inquiry into the value of ecclesiastical benefices in 1650 states the parsonage 
(of Bedfont). then on lease to Mrs. Scott, worth £io per annum, and mentions another par- 
sonage, worth £2,0 per annum, the property of Francis Piige. and held by him in free socage 
under the manor of East Greenwich by feahy only [Pari. Survey, Bishop's Library, Lambeth]. 



ROSE WELL. 1/5 



It would also appear from the above inscription that the name 
of the mother of Francis Page was Isabell. but who her hus- 
band was we do not now know. 

This particular branch of the Page famil)- was early 
seated in ?^Iiddlesex. and was doubtless of importance there. 
The tirst of the race nanietl in connection with Bedfont was 
one Roland or Rowland Page, who, in the year 1549, pur- 
chased from the co-heirs of Edmund West the manor of 
Pates, situated therein. This Rowland seems to have died 
prior to 15S9. because in the latter year Thomas Page, one 
of the heirs of the said Rowland, disposed of two parts of the 
manor of Pates to John Draper, and soon after he sold the 
remaining one-third to Philip Gerrard. 

The heirs of Rowland Page were also possessed of cer- 
tain other tenements in that parish, which appear to have 
been held by the family so late as about the middle of the 
eighteenth century. Allowing Thomas Page to have been 
born about 1540, he might well have been the grandfather 
or o-randuncle of Matthew and Francis Paee, who were born 
at the same place about a half centur)" or so later. 

Colonel John Page, founder of this branch of the Pages 
of \'irginia, was a singularly well-favored personage. From 
his fine portrait by Sir Peter Lely. that flattering court-painter 
who transformed, by his magic brush, all the painfully plain 
women of that day into celebrated beauties, we should rather 
imagine him a gay Cavalier than a staid \^irginia merchant. 
The colonel, with his long love-locks falling gracefully upon 
his brave silk cloak, his fine piercing eye, and eagle-beak 
nose, really recalls a dashing follower of Prince Rupert rather 
than a Roundhead or non-combatant, and it is difficult to dis- 
pel the belief that the aristocratic face gazing out upon us 
from the faded canvas belonged to one of those fiery youths 
"with long essenced hair" who, sword in hand, galloped up 



176 ROSE WELL. 



the slope at Naseby. crushing utterly the left flank of stout 
Oliver's pikemen. and out of whose charging line, up from 
the brown fells, came wafted to the "saints of God" the 
battle- son e of the Cavaliers : 



& 



" For God ! for the Cause 1 for the Church ! for the Laws ! 
For Charles, king of England,, and Rupert of the Rhine 1" 

x-\nd. truly, as we know naught of the earlier youth of John 
Page, it is barely possible, after all. that he did ride in that 
gallant charge and the subsequent wild and unwise pursuit 
of the flying yeomen that ended the day so disastrously for 
the Royalists, and that afterward he came quietly to Mrginia. 
where, amid the vast tobacco-helds. one follower of the Stuarts. 
more or less, was not reckoned in far-oft* England. What we 
do know of certainty, however, is that John Page was born 
in the parish of Bedfont, Middlesex, England, in 1627 (being 
son of Francis Page, as above shown), and emigrated to Mr- 
ginia about 1650 or earlier, when he was only twenty-three 
years of age. and died there upon the 23d of Januar)-. 1692. 
as appears by the inscription upon his tombstone, which 
in 1 87 7 was removed from the old graveyard and placed in 
the vestibule of the Episcopal church at \\ illiamsburg, Mr- 
ginia. This stone, which, in common with others of that 
day. formerly rested upon a brick foundation, bears the Page 
arms (with a crescent for a second son) and this inscription : 

"Here lieth in hope of a joytull Resurection 

the Body of Colonel JOHN PAGE of 

Bruton Parish, Esquire. One of their 

Majesties Council in the Dominion 

of Virginia. ^^'ho Dejxirted this 

life the 23 of January in the year 

of our Lord i(>g}i Aged 65." 



ROSE WELL. 177 



Alice, the wife of Colonel Pa^e, whose surname, on account 
of the arms upon her tombstone, is thought to have been 
Lucken. died at Williamsburg-. James City County, X'irginia, 
22d June. i69[8?]. Her monument, which is in a fair state 
of preservation, has the following lines : 

•• Heer Iveth the Hody of ALICK PAC'.i: 

wile of JOHN PACK of ><■• County of York 

in Virginia. Aged 73 years. Who 

departed tliis life the 2 2d day of June 

Anno Pomini i09[S?]."' 

In 1878 a substantial stone shaft was erected over the 
grave of Colonel |ohn Page, in the old Episcopal churchyard 
at Williamsburg, by his descendant. Hr. R. Channing Moore 
Page oi Xew York. 

Regarding the old church, in the ground adjoining which 
Colonel Page lies buried. Bishop Meade, in his Old C/mrc/ics, 
Ministers, and Pami/ics i)i Jlr(^i?iia, writes: '"In 1678 it was 
proposed to erect, at Williamsburg, a good church to take 
the place of two indifferent ones in the parish. Rowland 
Jones was the hrst rector. John Page, first of the family, 
headed the list of subscriptions with £20, and gave the 

ground tor the chinxh and grave\ard Afterward his 

eldest son, Francis, enlarged the church." The parish was 
named Bruton in honor of Thomas Ludwell. who came frtMU 
a place ot the same name in Somersetshire. England. 

Although it has been stated that the bricks used in the 

construction of the church were imported from England, 

there does not seem to be good grounds for the assertion, 

and it is more probable that they were of home manufacture. 

T/ic History of Bristol Parish says in this respect: "There 

was no occasion tor it. as brickmakers were among the 

earliest importations, and the bills tor moulding and biu'ning 
12 



178 ROSE WELL. 



the brick for the capltol at Williamsburg, James City County, 
Virgrinia, are still extant." 

Of the life and transactions of Colonel John Page, from 
the time of his arrival in Virginia until his decease, we know 
but little, except that he had sundry patents for large tracts of 
land and became influential in the affairs of the Colony. The 
several grants and conveyances of Virginia lands unto Colonel 
John Page were partly as follows : Richard Bennett, Esquire, 
unto John Page, Merchant, two hundred acres of land "situ- 
ated on the North side of Yorke river beginning at a little 
run joyning to the land of Coll°. William Clayborne running 
West by South by the river," etc. Dated 23 August, 1653. 
Another grant of about the same time, but bearing no date, 
is from the said Richard Bennett, t^squire, to Mr. John Page, 
Merchant, for "eight hundred and fifty acres of land Situated 
on the South side of the freshes of Yorke river." "The said 
land being due unto the said John Page by and for the trans- 
portation of seventeen persons into this Colony." This grant 
is witnessed by Sam. Smith, J no. Binas, Alice Page, Eliza 
Page, Anne Hill, Anne Cooper, Eliza Parsons, Mary Page, 
Thomas Pevnin, Thomas Wadlowe, Morris Garrett, Andrew 
Coster, George Beashill, Mary Middleton, Jane \'allin. 

There also appear grants of 1900 acres in New Kent 
County, Virginia, south side of York River, 330 acres of 
Mid. Plantation in York County, 2700 acres in Lancaster 
County, within the freshes of the Rappahannock River, eigh- 
teen miles above Nansemum Town, called " Page's Pilgrim- 
age," 1656, and other tracts in later days. 

The will of "John Page, of Middle Plantation, in Yorke 
County, in Virginia, Esquire, being in good health, perfect 
memory & understanding (praised be God)," was signed 
"the fifth day of March, in y^ third year of y^ Raigne of our 
Soveraign Lord King James y^ Second & Anno Dom. 168-," 



ROSE WELL. 179 



and proved by the oathes of Henry Tyler and Alexander 
Bonnyman, 24 February, 169;, having been presented in 
court by Captain Francis Page, one of the executors. 

It is in some respects a very curious document. Colonel 
Page gives very explicit directions regarding his interment : 



ROSEWELL. 



" My body to be I remitt to y^ Earth, to be decendy buryed, 
with Christian buriall according to y"^ reights and ceremonies 
of y^ Church of England, in y^ Church yard of Bruton 
P'ish, where I now live (if I happen to dye in or near that 
P'ish) within ten foot of y^ South side of y'^' Church wall from 
ye Chancell Door to ^ East end of y- Church. And that 
over my grave erected with brick three foot six inches above 
ground, be laid a pollisht black marble stone of a good 
dimention." 



i8o 



ROSE WELL. 



He names his wife, Alice Page, his brother, Matthew 
Pao"e, deceased, whose son, Matthew, he had redeemed out of 
slavery in Algiers, his own sons, Francis and Matthew Page,, 
his brother, Robert Page, "late of Hatton, Hownsley Heath" 
(Bedfont Parish, Middlesex, England), and Robert's son John. 
He speaks of his grandson, John Tyler, son of his grand- 
daughter, Elizabeth Tyler, and Matthew, Luke, and Mary 
Page, children of his brother Matthew. He also names his 
brother Giblo and wife, in England, his sister Ince, his cousin 
Henry Tyler and wife, grandson John Chiles, sister Elizabeth 
Diggs, and others not known. 

From the will we also learn that Colonel Page held on 
lease certain houses on Longditch, Westminster, England, 
which yielded him an income of forty pounds per annum — 
that he owned large interests in various ships and a large 
number of negro slaves. 

Eighteen gold rings, valued at twenty shillings each, were 
to be given to certain of his friends as mourning rings. 

The will of Alice Paee, the colonel's wife, is also on file. 

<_> ' 

That Colonel Page was 
a man of considerable edu- 
cation, as well as a suc- 
cessful merchant, is evident 
from a letter extant, writ- 
ten by him to his "lov- 
ing son. Captain Matthew 
Page," the occasion being 
a little book which he had 
prepared, in 1688, as a 
New Year's gift for his 
son, and of which he says: 
"Set not lightly by my gift, but esteem those fatherly in- 
structions above earthly riches. Consider the dignity of your 




BALUSTRADE, SECOND FLOOR, ROSEWELL. 



ROSEWELL. i8i 



soul, and let no time slip whereby you may, with God's as- 
sistance, work out your salvation with fear and trembling." 
The gift was a manuscript on parchment in Colonel Page's 
own handwriting and strongly bound. It included practical ' 
instructions of a religious nature, with numerous quotations 
from the Bible. It was afterward printed from the original 
manuscript by Henry B. Ashmead, Philadelphia. The little 
work is known as "The Deed of Gift." 

The second son of Colonel John Page was Colonel Mat- 
thew Page, who was born at Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1659, 
and was the founder of Rosewell, but not the builder of the 
present mansion. Probably no native of the Old Dominion 
was more prominent in his day, yet time has spared us but 
few particulars concerning him. 

His name, however, appears as one of the members of the 
original Board of Trustees of William and Mary College, and 
he is called in the charter of that institution, now in the Col- 
lesfe of Arms, London, " Matthew Pagfe, Gent." Colonel 
Page was a member of the King's Council from Abington in 
the County of Gloucester, where he departed this life in 1703. 
His tomb at Rosewell bears the following inscription : 

" Here lieth interred ye Body of ye Honourable 

Collonell MATTHEW PAGE ESQr. One of Her Majtes 

most Honourable Councell of the Parish of 

Abington in the County of Gloucester in the 

Collony of Virginia. 

Son of the Honourable Collonell JOHN & ALICE 

PAGE of the Parish of Bruton in the County 

of Yorke in ye aforesaid Collony, who Departed 

this life in the 9th day of January Ann" 

Dom. 1703 in ye 45 year of his Age." 

Colonel Matthew Page married, about 1689, Mary, heiress 
•of John and Mary Mann of Timberneck, Gloucester Co., Va., 




\1\KV MANN. WlKt OK iU'N. MAI 1 HEW lAr.K. 



ROSE WELL. 183 



at which place he lived prior to his removal to Rosewell. 

Upon the latter plantation he erected a temporary wooden 
house, which has long since disappeared, having", in latter 
days, been supplanted by the fine brick building still standing. 
Man' Mann, wife of Colonel Matthew Page, was born at 
Timberneck in 1672, and died at Rosewell in 1707. The 
inscription on her tombstone there is as follows : 

" Here l}eth Interred the Body 

of MARY PAGE wife of the 
Honl^le MATTHEW PAGE Esq. 

one of her Majestyes Councel 

of this Collony of \'irginia and 

Daughter of JOHN and MARY 

MAXN of this Collony, who 

Departed this life ye 24th I\ay 

of March in ye year of our 

Lord 1707 in ye tliirty sixth 

year of her age." 

Although the old tombstone does not say so, yet it is Irue 
that after Colonel Matthew Page's death she married her 
cousin, John Page, the lawyer. Colonel Matthew Page and 
Mary, his wife, had four children : Elizabeth. Mann, Mary, 
and Matthew. Of these the only survivor was Mann Paee, 
who was born probably at Timberneck in 1691. He has been 
designated as the founder of Rosewell. 

The old estate called Rosewell lies upon the left bank of 
York River and upon the right bank of Carter's Creek in the 
county of Gloucester, \'irginia. Dr. Page in his account of 
the Page family thus speaks of the place: "The location 
known as Rosewell, Gloucester County, \'irginia, was orig- 
inally settled by Hon. Matthew Page about the year 1700, 
although the house that was built there by him does not now 
exist. 



1 84 ROSE WELL. 



"Why he should have selected that particular site is not 
certainly known. It is no more conveniently situated than 




HON. MANN PAGE OF ROSEWELL. 



the location now called Shelly, and the latter is of a consider- 
ably higher elevation than the former, which is quite a con- 



ROSE WELL. 185 



sideration in that rather flat portion of country. It is claimed 
by some that Powhatan had his headquarters at Rosewell, 
and it is supposed that Hon. Matthew Page settled there in 
commemoration of the event of the saving of the life of Cap- 
tain John Smith by Pocahontas. Many Indian relics have 
been found at Rosewell and its immediate vicinity, and from 
various accounts it would appear that Rosewell was about 
the location of Powhatan's headquarters. On the other hand, 
Howison, in his Histoi^y of Virginia, is quite positive that 
Shelly, which was formerly called Werowocomico, is the cor- 
rect location that marks the spot where that celebrated Indian 
chief, or 'emperor of Virginia,' once resided. BishopMeade 
inclines to Howison's statement of the case. The two local- 
ities are not very far distant from each other, and are sepa- 
rated by Carter's Creek, which flows into York River." 

According to the most authentic accounts, Rosewell man- 
sion was commenced in 1725 by Mann Page, and was not 
completed at the time of his death in 1730. 

This mansion, which is at present rapidly going to decay 
for want of proper repairs, stands on the right bank of Car- 
ter's Creek, near the junction of the latter with York River, 

Few Colonial houses in their day have been more imposing, 
and none, in Virginia, so large. It is constructed of brick and 
marble, and is three stories high above the basement, being 
almost square in shape. "The large hall was wainscoted 
with polished mahogany, and the balustrade of the grand 
staircase was made of the same material. The latter is 
carved by hand to represent baskets of fruit, flowers, etc." 

It was in this fine old hall that the body of Mann Page, 
first of the name, rested prior to its burial. 

"It is the tradition of the place," says Dr. Page, "that 
Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in this 
house (Rosewell) before going to Philadelphia. This tra- 



1 86 ROSE WELL. 



dition Is not only not impossible, but is highly probable, as 
Jefferson was an intimate friend of Governor John Page, and 
frequently visited Rosewell," 

The reader can take the old tale for what it is worth, for 
there is scarcely any way of proving or disproving it now. 

After the death of Governor John Page, in 1808, Rose- 
well appears to have been but little lived in by the family, 
although it was held by them until 1838. at which time it was 
sold, family tombs and all, for twelve thousand dollars to a 
man named Booth, who proceeded to dispose of all that was 
marketable upon the plantation. Old Governor Page had 
used the sash-weiofhts for bullets durino- the Revolution, but 
appears to have left the old lead roof intact. This was stripped 
off by the new owner. "The grand old cedars bordering 
the avenue, some of which are said to have been of enormous 
size, were cut down and the wood sold for tub timber. The 
mahogany wainscoting was detached from the walls and sold, 
but, being unable to dispose of the carved wood of the stair- 
way, it was whitewashed. Even the bricks of which the wall 
of the graveyard was made were removed. The very foun- 
dations of the tombstones themselves appear to have been 
taken away, and the large marble slabs are scattered about 
the surface of the ground." 

It seems that after Mr. Booth had realized about thirty- 
five thousand dollars from the place he conveyed it to one 
Catlett for twenty-two thousand dollars, who in 1855 trans- 
ferred it to Mrs. Deans. 

Mr. Booth has been bitterly denounced for destroying the 
old house for the sake of gain, but when it is considered that 
the descendants of its ancient owners cared so little for the 
place as to part with it for a trifle, without even reserving the 
family tombs or protecting them by agreement from dese- 
cration, we can scarcely blame one who had absolutely no 



ROSE WELL. 187 



personal interest in the property from taking all the advan- 
tage he could of his purchase. 

It is stated, but on questionable authority, that Mann 
Page was educated at Eton in England, This is a story 
often told of numerous other youths, not only in V^irginia, but 
in the other Colonies, and which frequently cannot be sub- 
stantiated by the records of the schools or colleges it is 
claimed they attended in England. 

Oi course there are exceptions, and we know that at a 
somewhat later period it was the universal custom to send 
young men abroad to finish their education ; and not only 
was this done in Virginia, but also in Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land, but very little in New England, where the home schools 
sufficed for the limited number of those who sought the luxury 
of mastering the classics. At the time of Mann Page's youth, 
however, it is not thought that many Virginians were educated 
in England. 

There were, indeed, good schoolmasters to be found in the 
Old Dominion, many of whom were quite capable of imparting 
to young Page the excellent tuition which he undoubtedly 
received in his early youth. 

He must, also, have had a considerable course in law, for 
it appears that he practised in the Virginia courts of justice. 

Mann Page I., as he is called, was left at an early age the 
possessor of a large estate under the will of his father and 
through his mother, Mary Mann. He served in the Council 
at periods from 1714 to the time of his death in 1730. Mann 
Page married, first, in 1712, Judith, daughter of Colonel Ralph 
Wormeley, Secretary of the Colony of Virginia. She died 
1 7 16, and her sorrowing young husband erected a monument 
to her at Rosewell with a long inscription in Latin, of which 
the following is a translation : 

"To the Sacred and Pious Memory of his most beloved 



1 88 



ROSE WELL. 



wife, Judith, cut down in the very flower of her age, this 
Monument of grief was erected by the Honourable Alann 
Page, Esquire. She was a most worthy daughter of the very 
illustrious Ralph Wormeley of County Middlesex, Esquire, 




OLD TOMUS, RtiSEWELL. 

formerly also a most deserving Secretar)- of Virginia. She 
was a most excellent and choice lady who lived in the state 
of most holy matrimony for four years and as many months. 
She left one survivor of each sex, Ralph and Maria, true like- 
nesses tooether of Father and Mother. She also had a third 
named Mann, who, scarcely five days surviving, under this 
silent marble was enclosed with his mother. On the third 
day after his birth she exchanged mortality for immortality. 
Alas, grief! She' was a most affectionate wife, the best of 
mothers, and an upright mistress of her family, in which the 
utmost gentleness was united with the most graceful suavity 



ROSE WELL. 189 



of manners and conversation. She died on the twelfth day 
of December in the One Thousand Seven Hundred and Six- 
teenth year, and the twenty second of her age." 

Less than one year after the death of his "dearest dear 
wife," as he calls her, Mann Page espoused another Judith, 
second daughter of Robert (King) Carter of Carotoman, 
Lancaster County, Virginia, who was then about twenty-three 
years of age, and by whom he had several children : of them 
Mann Pagfe, the eldest, inherited Rosewell and resided there. 

Here is the inscription on Mann Page's tomb at Rosewell : 

" Here lie the remains of the Honourable MANN PAGE ESQ. 

One of His Majesties Council of this Collony 

of Virginia, 

who departed this Life the 24tli Day of January 1 730 

In the 40th Year of his Age. 

He was the only Son of the Honourable MATTHEW PAGE Esqr. 

who was likewise a Member of his Majesties Council. 

His first wife was JUDITH Daughter of RALPH WORMELEY Esq. 

Secretary of Virginia ; 

By whom he had two sons and a Daughter. 

He afterwards married Judith Daughter of the Hon^e ROBERT CARTER Esqr. 

President of Virginia 

with whom he lived in the most tender reciprocal affection 

For twelve Years, 

Leaving b}- her Five Sons and a Daughter 

His publick Trust he faithfully Discharged 

with 

Candour and Discretion 

Truth and Justice. 

Nor was he less eminent in His Private Behaviour 

For he was 

A tender Husband and Indulgent Father 

A gentle Master and a faithfull Friend 

Being to All 

Courteous and Benevolent Kind and Affable. 

This Monument was Piously erected to His Memory 

By His mournfully Surviving Lady." 



190 ROSE WELL. 



The three sons of Mann Page and Judith, his second wife, 
who reached maturity and married, were : Mann, John, and 
Robert. They became in time the progenitors of the three 
principal branches of the Page family in Virginia — namely, 
those of Rosewell, commonly called the White Pages, those 
of North End, called the Black Pag-es, and the Broadneck 
Pages, who ultimately removed to Clarke County, Virginia. 
Mann Page II., of Rosewell, was born in 17 18, and was 
probably buried in the family ground, but his tomb has 
disappeared. 

According to the catalogue of William and Mary College, 
he was a member of the Board of Visitors of that institution 
in 1758, and is designated as "Mann Page, Gent." His 
son. Governor John Page, in his autobiography, as quoted by 
Bishop Meade, op. cit., vol. i. p. 147, Jiok, says : " He declined 
the office of Councillor in favor of his younger brother, John 
Page (of North End), who, my father said, having been 
brought up in the study of the law regularly, was a much 
more proper person for that office than he was." 

This owner of Rosewell espoused, as the wife of his 
youth, Alice, the daughter of Hon. John Grymes of Middle- 
sex County, Virginia, a member of the Council in the time 
of George I. She died at the early age of twenty-three years, 
upon the iith day of January, 1746, leaving three young chil- 
dren : John, Judith, and a son who died young. Mann Page's 
second spouse was Anne Corbin Tayloe of Mount Airy, Spott- 
sylvania, Virginia, whom he married in 1 748, and by whom he 
had the following children : Mann, Robert, Tayloe, Gwynn, 
Matthew, Elizabeth, Lucy. (See Genealogy.) The most dis- 
tinguished of Mann Page's sons was John Page of Rosewell, 
some time Governor of the Colony of Virginia. His portrait, 
painted by Benjamin West in 1758, shows him, at the age of 
sixteen years, a fine country lad, to whom we may attribute 



ROSE WELL. 



191 



Sporting proclivities, as his gun and powder-horn, together 
with a bunch of Virginia pheasants, rest by his side. It is 
claimed by some that he received his earlier education at 
William and Mary College, where he formed that acquaint- 
ance with Thomas Jefferson which continued throuo-hout his 




MANN PAGE, MEMBER OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 



long life, despite their differences of opinion upon religious 
subjects, a failing which, after all said, was not of so great 
importance in the Old Dominion in those days as now. 

John Page of Rosewell early displayed a very considerable 
ability in the conduct of business and an elegance of expres- 
sion and diplomatic talents for which he was noted in after- 
life. Here is a letter written by him to John Norton, Esq., 
of London, in 1772, whilst still a youth: 



192 ROSE WELL. 



Dear Sir : The bearer of this, Mr. Robert Andrews, a 
native of Pennsylvania, was educated and took his degree 
with credit at the College of Philadelphia. He has lived as 
tutor in my father's family several years, has applied himself 
to the study of divinity, and now offers himself a candidate 
for holy orders. His morals, abilities, and orthodoxy are 
such that it gave me pleasure when I found he was deter- 
mined to enter into that sacred office in our Church. As his 
character is truly amiable, I heartily recommend him to your 
notice ; every civility shown to him will be deemed as shown 
to myself; and if you will please introduce him to the most 
ingenuous gentlemen of your acquaintance, as he is very 
ingenuous himself, you will lay an additional obligation on 
your much obliged and most obedient servant, 

John Page, Jun. 

Of his earlier career in public life Bishop Meade writes 
thus : " He was with Washington in one of his Western expe- 
ditions against the French and Indians. Afterward he was a 
Representative in the House of Burgesses. In 1776 he was 
a Visitor of the College of William and Mary ; at which time 
he is mentioned in the Virginia Almanac as John Page, Junior, 
Esqr., to distinguish him from his uncle, Hon. John Page of 
North End, Gloucester (now Matthews) County, Virginia. 
It was about this period of his life that Governor Page 
opposed Lord Dunmore in the attempt of the latter to place 
John Randolph (who went to England when the war com- 
menced) among the visitors of the college, and succeeded in 
having Mr. Nathaniel Burwell (afterward of Frederick County, 
Virginia) chosen, Lord Dunmore's vote alone being cast for 
Mr. Randolph. During the Revolutionary struggle Governor 
Page rendered important services as a member of the Com- 
mittee of Public Safety and as lieutenant-governor of the 



ROSE WELL. 



193 



Commonwealth. He also contributed freely from his private 
fortune to the public cause, and was an officer (in the militia) 
for the county of Gloucester during the war. He was elected 
one of the earliest Representatives in Congress from Virginia 



'\ 












^-^L 


fif 


t^ 




• i 


^^ f ^. '■ 



HON. JOHN PAGE. 

upon the adoption of the Federal Constitution, and continued 
to act in that capacity from 1789 to 1797." 

In 1796 and 1799 he published pamphlets upon political 
questions, and in the year 1800 was a Presidential Elector, 
then considered an important position. In 1802 he was 
elected governor of Virginia to succeed Monroe. He was 
chosen to that office for three terms by the General Assem- 
bly, serving until 1805. Thomas Jefferson conferred upon 
him the office of Commissioner of Loans, an office which 
he held until his death in 1808. 

13 



194 ROSE WELL. 



" Hon. John Page was, from his youth, a man of pure and 
unblemished Hfe. He was a patriot, a statesman, a philos- 
opher, and a Christian. From the commencement of the 
American Revolution to the last hour of his life he exhibited 
a firm, inflexible, unremitting, and ardent attachment to his 
country, and rendered her very important services. His 
conduct was marked with uprightness in all the vicissitudes 
of life — in the prosperous and calamitous times through 
which he passed, in seasons of gladness and of affliction. 
He was not only the patriot, soldier, and politician, the well- 
read theolocrian and zealous churchman — so that some wished 
him to take orders with a view to being the first bishop of \^ir- 
ginia — but he was a most affectionate domestic character." 

Governor Page's first wife, whom he married in 1 765 
(circa) was Frances, daughter of Colonel Robins Burwell of 
Isle-of-\Vight County, \irginia. who died in 1 7S4, and was 
buried at Rosewell. although her grave is not indicated by 
any stone. By this laciy he had twelve children, three of 
whom died infants unnamed. Governor Page espoused, 
secondly, in the year 17S9, in \ew York City. Margaret, 
daughter of William Lowther, a native of Scotland. She 
was, it seems, personally acquainted with La Fayette, who 
visited her at Williamsburg, Mrginia. 20th October, 1S24, 
while on his way to Yorktown. By his second wife Governor 
Page had eight children, making twenty in all. They will be 
found in the genealogy accompanying this article. 

There were manv branches of the Pasres of Rosewell 
who intermarried with several of the most prominent \^irginia 
families. Some of these have been casually mentioned, and 
others will be found noted in the following pages. As for 
Rosewell mansion, the time is. perhaps, not far distant when 
it will be but a heap of ruins like the poor old monuments in 
the adjoining graveyard. 



A GENEALOGY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF COLONEL 
JOHN PAGE, WHO SETTLED IN THE COLONY OF 
VIRGINIA, Anno 1650. 



/^ 



I. (i) Colonel John Page, son of Francis, born in the parish of Bedfont, Middlesex, 
England, 1627; emigrated to Virginia about 1650, and died there 23 January, 1692. 
He married Alice Luckin, who died at Williamsburg, Va., 22 June, 169S, aged 
73 years. 

I II. Children of yohn and Alice Page : 

\ 2. Francis. 

' 3. Matthew. 

I 

I II. (2) Captain Francis Page of Williamslnirg, Va., ist son of Colonel John Page and 
Alice his wife, born in Va., 1657; died there 10 May, 1692. He served as Vestry- 
t man of Bruton Parish, and was Clerk of the House of Burgesses of Va. He mar- 

j tied, circa 1682, Mary, daughter of Edward Diggs of Hampton Parish, Va. 

III. Children of Francis and Alary Page : 

4. Elizabeth, m. John Page of York Co., Va., but d. s. p. 

--' II. (3) Colonel Matthew Page of Rosewell, Gloucester Co., Va., 2d son of Colonel 
John Page and Alice his wife, born in Va., 1659; died at Rosewell, 9 January, 
1703. He married, 1689, Mary, daughter of John Mann. She died 24 March, 
1707, aged 36 years. She married, 2dlv. John Page, her husband's kinsman. 

III. Children of Matthew and Mary Page : 

5. Elizabeth, d. infant, 15 March, 1693. 

6. Mann, b. 1691, of whom presently. 

7. Mary, d. infant, 14 Jan., 1702-3. 

8. Matthew, d. infant, 31 Dec, 1702. 

III. (6) Hon. Mann Page I. of Rosewell, ist son of Colonel Matthew Page and Mary 
his wife, born in Va., 1691 ; died at Rosewell, 24 January, 1730. He married, ist, 
in 1 712, Judith, daughter of Hon. Ralph Wormeley, Secretary of the Colony of 
Va. She died 12 December, 1716, aged 22 years. He married, 2dly, 1718, 
Judith, daughter of Hon. Robert Carter (King Carter) of Corotoman, Lancaster Co., 
Va. (See Carter.) 

IV. Children of Mann and Judith Page {ist -wife) : 

9. Ralph Wormeley, b. 2 Dec, 1713; d. s. p. . 

10. Maria, b. 24 Feb., 1714; m. William Randolph of Tuckahoe. (She 

was caWed Judith after her mother's death.) 

11. Mann, b. 8 Dec, 1716; d. infant. 

195 



196 GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY 



IV. Children of Mann and Judith Page {2d wife) : 

12. Mann, b. circa 171S ; m. 1st, Alice Grymes ; 2dly. Anne Corbin Tayloe. 
,-,..^^ 13. John, b. circa 1720; m. Jane Byrd. 

|^~"~~-^ 14. Robert, b. circa 1722; m. Sarah \Valker. 

15. Carter, b. circa 1724; d. s. p. 

16. Matthew, b. circa 1726; d. s. p. 

17. , dau.. b. circa 1728; d. infant. 

IV. (12) Hon. Mann P.age,' eldest son of Mann Page and Judith his 2d wife, bom at 
Rosewell, Va., circa 1718; and died there. He married. 1st. 1743. Alice, daughter 
of Hon. John Grymes of Middlesex Co., Va., who died 11 fan.. 1746. He mar- 
ried, 2dly, circa 174S, .\nne Corbin Tayloe of Mount Airy. \a. 

V. Children cf Mann and Alice Page [ist u'ife) : 

18. John, b. 17 April, 1744; m., ist, Frances Burwell ; 2dly, Margaret 

Lowther. 

19. Judith, b. 1 745 ; ni. Lewis Burwell of Carter's Creek. 

20. , son, d. infant. 

V. Children of Mann and Anne Cori'in Page (2d wife): 

21. Mann, b. circa 1749. 

22. Robert, b. circa 175 1. 

23. Tayloe. b. 1756; d. 29 Nov., 1760. 

24. Gwynn, b. circa 1758. 

25. Matthew, b. circa 1760. 

26. Elizabeth, b. circa 1762; m. Benjamin Harrison of Brandon. (See 

Brandon.) 

27. Lucy Burwell. b. circa 1764; m.. 1st. Col. George W. Baylor; 2dly, 

Col. Nathaniel Burwell of Carter Hall. Clark Co., Va. 

V. (iS) Governor John Rage of Rosewell, Va.. ist son of Mann Page and Alice, his 
first wife, born at Rosewell, 17 April, 1744; died at Richmond, Va.. 11 Oct., 1808. 
He married. 1st, circa 1765. Frances, daughter of Col. Robins Burwell of Isle-of- 
Wight Co., Va., by Sallie Nelson, his wife, daughter of Thomas Nelson of Vork- 
town. She died 1784. He married. 2dly. 17S0. Margaret, daughter of William 
Lowther of Scotland. 

VI. Children of John and Prances Page {ist loife) : 

28. Mann. b. 1766; m. Elizabeth Nelson. 

29. John. b. 1768; d. infant. 

30. Robert, b. 1 770; d. s. p. 

31. Sally Burwell. b. circa 1771; m. William Nelson. 

32. John. b. circa 1773: drowned in Carter's Creek 17^4- 

33. Alice Grj-mes, b. circa 1775; m.. 1st. Dr. Augiistine Smith; 2dly. 

Col. Dudley Diggs. 

34. Frances, b. circa 1777; m.. 1st. Thomas Nelson Jr.; 2dly, Dr. Carter 

Berkeley. 

35. Francis, b. circa 17S1 ; m. Susan Nelson. 

36. Judith Carter, b. circa 17S3: m. Robert Nelson. 



GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 197 



VI. Children of John and Margaret Page {3d wife) : 

37. Margaret Lowther, b. circa 1790; m., 1st, John H. Blair; 2dly, 

Richard Anderson. 
3S. ^Villiam Lowther, d. infant. 

39. Mary Mann, d. infant. 

40. Gregory, d. s. p. 

41. John, d. s. p. 1838. 

42. [ohn William, d. infant. 

43. Barbara, b. circa 1795; d. unm. 

44. Lucy Burwell, b. 1S07; m. Hon. Robert Saunders of Williamsburg, Va. 

V. (21) Hon. ^L\N^• PAGfof Mansfield, Spottsylvania Co., Va., ist son of Mann and 
Anne Corbin Page, bom at Rosewell circa 1749. He married, 18 April, 1776, 
Mary, daughter of John Tayloe of Spottsylvania Co., Va., and Rebecca Plater, his 
wife, daughter of Hon. George Plater of Maryland. 
VL Children of Mann and Mary Page : 

45. Maria, b. circa 1777; m. Lewis Burwell. 

46. Lucy Gwynn, b. circa 1779; m. Josiah Tidball. 

47. Mann, b. circa 1781 ; m. and had issue: Mann Page, who m., 1S27, 

at Willis Grove, Orange Co., Va., Mary Champe, dau. of William 
C. Willis, and lived at Orange Court House. They had : Mann 
Page, who became a physician and removed to Mississippi. 

V. (22) Robert Page, 2d son of Mann and Anne Corbin Page, born circa 1751. and 
went to Hanovertown, Hanover Co., Va. He married, about 1776, Elizabeth, 
daughter of Charles Carter of Fredericksburg, Va. 
VL Children of Robert and Elizabeth Page : 

48. Elizabeth, b. circa 1777; ni. Philip Burwell. 

49. Charles, b. circa 177S; m. Sally Cary Nelson. 

50. Mann, b. circa 17S0; m. Mary Chiswell Nelson. 

V. (24) GwYNN Page, 4th son of Mann and Anne Corbin Page, his wife, born at Rose- 
well circa 1758; removed to Kentucky. He married, ist. Miss Herreford; 2dly, 
Miss Hoe of Caroline Co., Va. 

VL Children of Gioynn Page by ist 7i>ife : 

51. Dr. Matthew, b. circa 1789; removed to Clarke Co., Va. ; m. 1S14, 

Mary Randolph, dau. of Archibald Cary Randolph of Clarke Co., 
Ist son of Thomas Isham Randolph of Dungeness, Goochland Co., 
Va. They had issue : Archibald Cary Page, Gwynn Page, Dr. 
William Meade Page of San Francisco, Cal., and Matthewella 
Page, who m., 1858, Benjamin Harrison, Jr., of Berkeley, and had 
Dr. Benjamin Harrison and other issue. The Harrisons removed 
to Longwood, Clarke Co., Va. 
VL Children of G'vynn Page by 2d wife : 

52. Gwynn of Louisville. Ky.. an eminent lawyer. He emigrated to San 

I'Vancisco. Cal., and d. s. p. 

53. Lucy of San Francisco. Cal., unmarried. 



198 GEiXEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY 



VI. (28) Mann Page of Shelly, Gloucester Co., Va., ist sou of Gov. John Page and 
Francis his first wife, born 1766 at Rosewell ; died 24 August, 1S13 at Mount Airy, 
Hanover Co., Va. He built Shelly, on York River, in 1794. It is opposite Rose- 
well across Carter's Creek. The old house was burnt down in 1883, but another 
residence has since been erected. Mann Page married, 5 June, 17S8, Elizabeth, 
daughter of Gov. Thomas Nelson of Vorktown, York Co., \'a., and Lucy Grymes, 
his wife. 

VII. Childrt.n of Miinn and Elizadith Page : 

54. John. b. 7 March, 17S9; d. 31 Jan., 1817; m. 1S12, Elizabeth Perin, 

but d. s. p. She m., 2dly, Thomas J. Michie of Staunton. Augusta 
Co., Va. 

55. Lucy Mann, b. 9 Feb., 1790; m. Dr. Nathaniel Nelson. 

56. Frances Burwell, b. 15 July, 1 791 ; m. Major ^Villiam Perin of Goshen 

Co.. Va. They had issue : Anna Louise Perin, m., circa 1838, Wynd- 
ham Kemp of Gloucester Co.. Va.. and had issue: Perin Kemp, 
attorney at law, Cdoucester Court House, Va. ; Emily Kemp, m. 
Payton N. Page of same place; Wyndham Kemp, Jr., of Texas. 
Ellen Perin, sister of Anna Louise, d. unmarried. 

57. Thomas Nelson, b. 5 Oct., 1792; m. Juliana Randolph. 

58. Mann. b. 9 June. 1794; m.. 1st. Judith Nelson; 2dly, Anne Page 

Jones. 

59. Eliza Nelson, b. 15 Oct., 1795; m. Benjamiu Pollard of Norfolk. Va. 

Only child. Ellen, m.. 1S53. Mr. Marsden. 

60. William Nelson, b. 20 July, 1797; d. s. p. 1829. 

61. Mary Jane. b. 30 Oct., 1798; m. Archibald McGill, but d. s. p. 

62. \Varner Lewis (M. 'D.^, b. 10 March, 1800; d. s. p. at Rugswamp, 

Hanover Co., Va., 26 March, 1822. 

63. Sally Burwell, b. 8 May, 1802; d. unm. at Shelly, 1S69. 

64. Ann, b. 10 Feb., 1S03; m. Francis K. Nelson of Cloverfields, Albe- 

marle Co., Va. She was his ist wife. 

65. Philip L. G., b. 28 Sept., 1804; d. s. p. at Shelly. I April, 1S21. 

66. Robert Nelson, b. 13 Dec, 1S05; d. s. p. 15 August, 1824. 

67. Thomas Jeft'erson. b. 4 Jan.. 1S07; m. Benjamina Price. 

68. Cornelia Mann, b. 29 April. 1S09; d. at Shelly. 15 Dec, 1890; m., 

23 Dec. 1835. Lieut. Alberto Griffith, U. S. N. They had an only 
child, Mary Jane Griffith, who d. unmarried. 

VI, (35) Francis Page of Rugswamn, Hanover Co.. Va.. 5th son of Gov. John Page and 
Francis, his tirst wife, born at Rosewell circa 17S1 ; married. 1S06. Susan, daughter 
of Gov. Thomas Nelson of Vorktown, Va.. and Lucy Grymes, his wife. 
VII. Children of Francis and Susan Pace • 

69. Anzolette. b. 1S07; m. Rev. William N. Pendleton. 

70. Thom.is Lucius, b. ; d, at Rugswamp. Va., s. p. 1S61. 

71. Francis Mann, b. circa 1S13: m.. 1S54. Victorine Valette of Balti- 

more. Md. They had issue : John Randolph. Grymes. Victorine, 
Rosalie Rosewell. Marie. Edmund Shellv. 



GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 199 



72. Anne Rose, b. 1815; unm. She removed to Oakland, Hanover Co. 

73. Frances Burwell, b. circa iSiS; ni., 183S, I'liilij) X. Meade. They 

had issue : William, m., but no issue ; Everard, minister of Prot. 
Epis. Ch. ; Philip N., Jr., Harry Vernon, Susan Page, Mary Nelson, 
Fanny, and four who d. infants. 

74. John of Oakland, Hanover Co., Va., b. circa 1S22. He m., 1S47, 

Elizabeth Burwell, daughter of Capt. Thomas Nelson. They had 
issue : Rev. Francis Page of Prot. Epis. Ch., Thomas Nelson Page, 
attorney at law and author, of Richmond, Va. ; Rosewell Page, 
attorney at law, Danville, \'a. 
[A dan., Hughella, d. young.] 

VI. (^49) Ch.vrlks P.\ge of Hanovertown, Hanover Co., \'a., 1st son of Robert Page of 
same place, and Elizabeth Carter, his wife, born circa 1778. He m., September, 
1799, Sally Cary, dau. of Col. William Nelson of" The Dorrill," Hanover Co., Va. 

VH. Childrin of Charles and Sally Cary Page : 

75. Elizabeth Burwell, b. circa 1800; m., circa 1S20, Dr. B. R. W^ellford 

of f^redericksburg, Va. They had one daughter, who became wife 
of Joseph Atkinson of North Carolina. 

76. Caroline, b. circa 1802; m., circa 1822, John C. Pollard. 

77. Norborne, b. circa 1804; m. Mary Jones. Issue unknown. 

78. William A., b. circa 1S06; m. Caroline Jones. Issue. 

79. Robert C., b. circa iSoS; m., circa 1833, Martha Temple. 

\T. (50) M.ANN Page of Hanovertown, Hanover Co., Va., 2d son of Robert Page of same 
place, and Elizabeth Carter, his wife, born circa 1780. He married, circa 1S03, 
Mary Chiswell, dau. of Col. William Nelson of " The Dorrill," Hanover Co., Va. 

VII. Children of Ma it it a ltd Mary Chiswell Page : 

So. Robert, b. circa 1804; d. s. p. 

81. Charles, b. circa 1806; m. Lucy Nelson. No issue. 

82. John F. Page, b. circa 1808-; m., circa 1833, Catherine, daughter of 

Wilson Cary Nelson. They had an only daughter, Mary Mann, b. 
1834, who m., circa 1854, William B. Newton of Westmoreland Co., 
Va. They had issue : I.ucy P., Willoughby, Kate. They lived at 
Summer Hill, Old Church P. O., Hanover Co., Va. Mary Maim 
Page, m., 2dly, Dr. Brockenborough, who d. s. p. 

VII. (57) Thom.\s Nelson Page of Shelly, 2d son of Mann Page and Elizabeth, his wife, 
of same place, born 5 October, 1792; died at Shelly, October, 1835, and was buried 
at Rosewell. He married, i February, 1827, Julianna, daughter of Isham Ran- 
dolph of Richmond, Va., and Nancy Coupland, his wife. 

VIII. Children of Thomas Nelson and Julianna Page : 

%T). Mann, b. at Shelly, 21 April, 1S35. Major Mann Page is now of 
Lower Brandon, James River, Va. Being the eldest son of the 
eldest son, he is the head of the Page family in Virginia. 



20O GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 

VII. (58) Mann Page of Greenland, Gloucester Co., Ya., 3d son of Mann Page of Shelly, 
born 9 June, 1794; died January, 1841. He married, 1st, 1819, Judith, daughter 
of Francis Nelson of Mt. Airy, Va. ; 2dly, 1829, Anne Page Jones. 

VIII. Children of Mann and Judith Page : 

84. Francis Nelson, b. 28 Oct., 1S20; m. Susan Duval. 

85. Powhatan Robertson, b. circa 1S22; d. 17 June, 1864. He served in 

the Mexican War as captain of a company of the 14th Regt. Inf.. 
U. S. A. He m., 1853, Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Samuel Scollav 
of Smithfield, Jefferson Co., W. Va. They had one daughter, Sallv 
Scollay Page of Clarksburg, W. ^'a. 

VIII. Children of Mann and Anne Jones Page: 

86. John Randolph, b. 1830; m., 30 Oct., 1856, at Eagle Point, Gloucester 

Co., Va., Delia, daughter of John Randolph Bryan of Carysbrook, 
Fluvanna Co., Va , and Elizabeth Coalter, his wife, daughter of 
Judge Coalter. They had issue: (i) Mann Page of Denver, Col, 
m. Harriet Robbins, and has Mann Page, Jr., and Winthrop ; (2) Dr. 
Charles Page of New York; (3) Anne Page, m., 17 March, 1884, 
her cousin, Walter Taylor Page of Omaha, Neb., and has Nannie ; 
(4) Delia Page; (5) Ada S. Page; (6) Joseph B. Page; and (7) 
John Randolph Page, Jr. The two first born, not named (Randolph 
Bryan and Elizabeth Page), died infants. 

87. Martha T. Page, b. circa 1834; m. H. W. Vandergrift of Alexandria, 

Va., and had : Katie, Annie. 

88. Elizabeth N., b. circa 1840; m. James Goggin of Hempstead, Te.\as. 

89. Richard M. Page, b. circa 183S; m. Kate Wray, and had one child, 

Thomas Nelson. 

90. Peyton N. Page, b. circa 1840. attorney at law, Gloucester Co., \'a. ; 

m., 1S75, Emily Kemp, but d. s. p. 

VII. (67) Captaix Thomas Jefferson Page, U. S. N., 8th son of Mann Page of Shelly, 
. and Elizabeth, his wife, born 8 January, 1S08. He married at Washington, D. C, 
1838, Benjamina, daughter of Benjamin Price of Loudon Co., Va. 

VIII. Children of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamina Page : 

91. Thomas Jefferson, Jr., b. 15 Feb., 1839; d. s. p. 16 June, 1864. 

92. John, b. 29 Nov., 1S40; removed to Estancia, San Carlos, Bragado, 

Buenos Ayres, South America. He m., 1863, Julia Lowry of 
Buenos Ayres. He was captain in the Argentine (S. A.) Navy, and 
was killed by savages in 1890 on the river Pilcomayo. 

93. Lilly, b. 1842; m., Oct., 1866, the Marquis Spinola of Florence, Italy. 

who d. s. p. 

94. Philip N., b. 2 May, 1S47; removed to Buenos Ayres, S. .A.. 

95. Mary Bell, b. 1848; d. 1870. 

96. Frederick M., b. 18 April, 1852; m., 28 Oct., 1S80, Sadie Byrd, dau. 

of A. M. Chichester of Loudon Co., Va. 

97. George C. of Rome, Italy, b. 28 Sept., 1857. 



GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 20I 



VIII. (84) Major Francis Nelson Page, U. S. A., ist son of Mann Page of Greenland 
and Judith, his wife, born 28 (Jet., 1820; died at Fort Smith, Ark., 25 March, 
i860. He married, 25 Feb., 185 1, Susan, daughter of Col. William Duval of 
Florida. 

IX. Children of Francis and Susan Page : 

98. Francis Nelson, b. 21 Feb., 1852. 

99. Lucy Nelson, b. 2q Aug., 1853; m., 8 Jan., 1877, Dr. William A. 

Hardaway of St. Louis, Mo. 

100. Powhatan Randolph, b. 8 Dec, 1854. 

101. Kale Rector, b. 7 Feb., 1857; m., 1883, Mr. Lawrence of Las Vegas, 

New Mex. 

102. Ellas Rector, b. 9 Nov., 1S5S; d. 1859. 

IV. (13) Hon. John P.^ge of North End, Matthews (formerly Gloucester) Co., Va., 2d son 
of Hon. Mann Page of Rosewell and Judith, his wife, born circa 1720; died about 
1780. He married, 1746, Jane, daughter of Col. William Byrd of Westover. (See 
Byrd of Westover.) 

V. Children of John and Jane Page : 

103. Mann, b. circa 1747; removed to Fairfield, Clarke Co., Va. ; m. Mary 

Mason Selden of Salvington, Stafford Co., Va. 

104. John, b. circa 1749; removed to Caroline Co., Va. He m., 1764, 

Elizabeth Burwell. 

105. Jane, b. circa 1751 ; m., circa 1770, Dr. Nathaniel Nelson. 

106. Dr. William, b. circa 1753; removed to Richmond, Va. ; m. Miss 

Jones. 

107. Judith, b. circa 1755; m. Col. Hugh Nelson. 

108. Carter, b. 1758; removed to Willis' Fork, Cumberland Co., Va. He 

m., 1st, Mary Cary ; 2dly, Lucy Nelson. 

109. Robert, b. 1764; removed to Janeville, Clarke Co., Va. He m. 

Sarah Page, 
no. Maria, b. circa 1765; m., ist, John Byrd; 2dly, Archibald Boiling; 
3dly, Peter Randolph, but d. s. p. 

111. Matthew, b. 1767; d. s. p. 

112. Thomas, b. circa 1773; m., circa 179S, Mildred, daughter of Edmund 

Pendleton. They had issue : Mildred, m. Palmer, Thomas, 

Henry, Robert. 

113. Lucy, b. circa 1775; m. Francis Nelson of Mt. Airy, Va. 

V. (103) Mann Page of P'airfield, Clarke Co., Va., 1st son of Hon. John Page of North 
End and Jane Byrd, his wife, born circa 1742. He married, circa 1767, Mary 
Mason, daughter of Samuel Selden of Salvington, Stafford Co., Va. 

VI. Children of Mann and Mary Mason Page : 

114. William Byrd, b. circa 1768; m. Anne Lee. 

115. Jane Byrd, b. circa 1770; m. Major Thomas Swann of Baltimore, 

Md., from whom the Swanns of Baltimore are descended. 



202 GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 



V. (104) John Page of Caroline Co., Va.. 2d son of Hon. John Page of North End and 
Jane Byrd, his wife, born circa 1743; died 17S9. He married, 1764, Elizabeth, 
daughter of Lewis Burwell of King's Mills, York Co., Va. She was burnt to death 
in the Richmond Theatre, 26 December, 1811. 
VI. Children of John and Elizabeth Page : 

116. Octavius Augustme, b. circa 1765 ; d. at Boston, Mass., June, 1813, s. p. 

Lieutenant U. S. Navy. 

117. Jane Burwell, b. circa 1774; m., 23 Aug., 1794, Edmund Pendleton, Jr_ 

118. Peyton Randolph, b. circa 1776; m. Mrs. Bryant. He had four 

children. Was in U. S. Navy. 

119. Lewis Burwell, b. circa 177S; d. at Portsmouth, Vt., 16 Sept., 1826. 

Sailing master U. S. Navy. He m. Mrs. Reade of Philadelphia, 
and left one child, Elizabeth, who m. Dr. John Chandler, U. S. Navy. 
They had five children: (i) Alice Lee, unm. ; d. 1854; (2) Mar- 
garet Riche, m. Rev. T. J. Beard of Birmingham, Ala., issue; (3) 
Augustus Page, d. s. p. ; (4) Mary Imogen, m. Bishop Wingfield ; 
(5) William Lewis, m. Georgia Pulling. 

120. Hugh Nelson, b. 1788; m., 1st, 1838, Imogen Wheeler, who d. s. p.; 

2dly, 1S4S, Elizabeth P. Wilson. 

V. (106) Dr. William Page of Richmond, Va., 3d son of Hon. John Page of North 
End and Jane Byrd, his wife, born circa 1753. He married, circa 1778, Miss Jones. 

VI. Children of Dr. U'illiam and Jane Page : 
> 121. Jane Byrd, b. circa 1779; ni. Dr. Henry W. Lockett. 

122. William Byrd, b. circa 1781 ; m. Lucy Segar, and had issue : (l) John 

Carter Page, Richmond, Va., ni. Martha Goff; (2) Mary Jane Page, 
m. George Bargam^n. 

123. John Carter, b. circa 1783; m. Miss Segar. 

V. (108) Major Carter Page of Willis' Forks, Cumberland Co., Va., 4th son of Hon. 
John Page of North End and Jane Byrd, his wife, born 1758; died April, 1825. 
He married, ist, 12 April, 1783, at Tuckahoe, Goochland Co., Va., Mary, daughter 
of Col. Archibald Cary of Ampthill, Chesterfield Co., Va., and Mary Randolph, his 
wife. She died 26 January, 1797, aged 31 years, and was buried at Presqu'isle, 
James River. He married, 2dly, 1799, Lucy, daughter of Gov. Thomas NelSon of 
Yorktown, Va. She died 5 January, 1853. 
VI. Children of Carter and ]\Iary Page : 

124. John Cary, b. 9 May, 1784; m. Mary Anna Trent. 

125. Henry, b. 29 Sept., 1785 ; m. Jane B. Dean; removed to Kentucky. 

126. Carter, b. 9 Dec, 1786; d. 1789. 

127. Lavinia Randolph, b. 15 June, 1788; d. 1789. 

128. Carter, b. 10 Aug., 1790; d. 30 June, 1791 ; infant. 

129. Dr. Mann, b. 26 Oct., 1791 ; removed to Turkey Hill, Albemarle Co., 

Va. ; m. Jane F. Walker. 

130. William, b. 21 Aug., 1793; d. 26 Dec, 1793. 

131. Mary Isham, b. 30 Dec, 1794; d. 26 Dec, i8n. 



GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 20\ 



VI. Children of Carter and Lucy Page : 

132. Thomas Nelson, b. circa 1800; d. young. 

133. Nelson, b. 8 Nov., 1801 ; m., ist, March, 1S28, Lucia, daughter of 

Randolph Harrison of Clifton, Cumberland Co., Va., and had issue : 
(i) Mary Randolph Page, m., circa 1835, Benjamin Harrison of 
Upper Brandon, and by him had: William Byrd; Lucia, m., 1878, 
E. R. Cooke, Cumberland Co., Va. ; Nelson, d infant; and Benjamin 
Harrison, now of Upper Brandon; (2) Lucius Cary Page, b. circa 
1838; d. young. Nelson Page married, 2dly, Maria Hamilton, no issue. 

134. William Nelson, b. 28 Feb., 1S03 ; removed to Ca Ira, Va. ; m. Fan- 

nie P. Randolph. 

135. Lucy Jane, b. 6 April, 1804; d. 7 Jan., 1S72; m., 1827, Jonathan P. 

Cushing of Mass. They had: (l) Lucy Cashing, m. Francis D. 
Irving of Cartersville, Va., and had: Robert and Lucius; (2) Bettie 
Cushing, m. Rev. W. C. Meredith of Winchester, Frederick Co., Va., 
and had : Jonathan Cushing and Lucy Page. 

136. Robert Burwell, b. 1806; d. 1837; m., Nov., 1829, Sarah H. May, 

daughter of Thomas May of Buckingham Court House, Va., and 
had issue: (i) Carter, d. young; (2) Mary May, b. circa 1835; m., 
i860, as his 2d wife, Frances D. Irving of Farmville, Va., and had : 
Dr. Paulus Irving of Farmville, Prince Edward Co., Sarah May 
Irving, d. unm., 1883, Francis D. Irving, Robert Page Irving; (3) 
Lucy Nelson, b. circa 1837; m. Rev. James Grammar of Ashland, 
Hanover Co., Va. 

137. Thomas, b. 8 June, 1807 ; removed to Locust Grove, Cumberland Co., 

Va. ; m., 5 Nov., 1839, Sally Page of Clarke Co., Va. 

138. Mary Maria Page, b. 1813; m., 1835, Geo. W. Dame of the Episcopal 

Church, Danville, Pittsylvania Co., Va. They had issue: (i) Jona- 
than Cushing Dame; (2) Lucy Carter Dame; (3) Rev. William 
Meade Dame; (4) Ellen Dame; (5) Nelson Dame; (6) Rev. 
George W\ Dame, Jr. 

V. (109) Hon. Robert Page of Janeville, Clarke Co., Va., son of Hon. John Page of 
North End, born 1764; died I January, 1840. He married, 1788, Sarah W. Page, 
daughter of Robert Page of Broadneck. 

VI. Children of Robert and Sarah W. Page : 

139. Jane Byrd, b. 1789; m., 1812, John W. Page. 

140. John, b. 2 Sept., 1792; m., 1st, Jane Nelson; 2dly, Sarah Williamson. 

141. Sarah Walker, b. 30 Dec, 1793; d. unm. 

142. Robert, b. 23 June, 1795; d- infant. 

143. Judith Carter, b. 25 April, 1800 ; d. unm. 

144. Catherine, b. 23 Oct., 1803; d. infant. 

145. Mary Mann, b. 29 March, 1805; m., 1832, Joseph A. Williamson of 

Orange Court House, Va. She died 1876. They had issue: (l) 
Robert Page Williamson, d. s. p. 1854; (2) Sally Page Williamson, 
d. unm., 1872; (3) Williams Williamson, d. unm., 1858; (4) Roberta 



204 GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 



Page Williamson, b. 1841 ; rn., 1862, Rev. John B. Newton of Rich- 
mond, Va., and had issue; (5) Joseph A. Williamson, Jr., m., 1S68, 
Nellie, daughter of Dr. Thomas McGiU of Md., and has issue. 

146. Robert Walker, b. 17 April, 1807; d. s. p. 

VI. (114) William Byrd Page of Fairfield, Clarke Co., Va., ist son of Mann Page of 
same place, and Mary Mason, his wife, born circa 1768; m. Anne, daugliter of 
Richard Henry Lee. 

VII. Children of Williani Byrd and Anne Page : 

147. William Byrd, d. s. p. 

148. Mary Anne, b. circa 1796; d. Dec, 1873; m., 1816, General Roger 

Jones, U. S. A. They had issue: (i) William Page Jones, Lieu- 
tenant U. S. A., d. 1840; (2) Catesby ap Roger Jones, m. Gertrude 
Tart of Selma, Ala., and died there June, 1877; left issue; (3) 
Letitia Corbin Jones, d. unm., 1869; (4) Mary Jones, d. unm. ; {5) 
Dr. Eusebius Lee Jones of New York City and Col., where he died 
1S76. He m., 1st, Julia Stewart; 2dly, 1873, Martha Moran. (6) 
Edmonia Page Jones, d. unm. ; (7) Roger Jones, Inspector General 
U. .S. A.; m. Frederica B. Jones, issue; (8) W'alter Jones, d. 1876; 
— ■ «* m. Miss Brooks of Mobile, Ala., issue ; (9) Charles Lucien Jones, 
m. Mary Anderson of Wilmington, N. C. ; no issue; (10) Thomas 
Skelton Jones, married; of Nashville, Tenn. ; (il) Virginia Byrd 
Jones, unm.; (12) Winfield Scott Jones, banker, San Francisco, Cal. 

149. Rev. Charles Henry, b. 1801 ; m., 1S27, Gabriella Crawford of Am- 

herst Co., Va. 

150. Mann Randolph, b. circa 1803; m. Miss Beall of Jefferson Co., W. Va. 

Their daughter, Maria R. Page, died 1872, leaving issue : (l) George 
R., m., 1st, Miss Cabell; 2dly, Miss Timbelane ; (2) Jane Byrd, m. 
Guerdon H. Pendleton of Clarke Co., Va. ; (3) Mary, d. unm. ; (4) 
Anne Lee; (5) Margaret Byrd, m. Charles S. Lee of Jefferson Co., 
Va. ; (6) Edmonia L. ; (7) William Byrd, m. Laura L. Lippitt, and 
had : Mary and Agnes. 

151. Jane Byrd, b. circa 1805; unm. 

152. Gary Selden, b. circa 1809; unm. 

153. Capt. Richard L. Page, U. S. N., b. circa iSli, of Norfolk, Va. ; m., 

circa 1832, Alexina Taylor of Norfolk. 'I hey had issue : (l) Fannie, 
m., 1875, Capt. Whittle, U. S. N. ; issue; (21 William Byrd, m., 
1884, Louise Blow of Norfolk, Va. ; (3) Alexina, d. unm.; (4) Wal- 
ter Taylor, m., 7 March, 1884, Anne Page ; removed to Omaha, Neb. 

154. Dr. Thomas S. Page, b. circa 1813; m. Miss Jolift"; issue. 

155. Edmonia, b. circa 1815 ; m., circa 1833, Hall Neilson. 

VI. (120) Captain Hugh Nelson Page of Norfolk, Va., Capt. U. S. N., son of John 
Page of Caroline Co., and Elizabeth, his wife, born September, 1788. He mar- 
ried, 1st, November, 1838, Imogen, daughter of Guy Wheeler, Esq., of Nansemond 
Co., Va. She died s. p. 1847. He married, 2dly, 13 July, 1S4S, Elizabeth P., 
daughter of Holt Wilson, Esq., of Portsmouth, Va. 



GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 205 

VII. Children of Hugh A'ehon and Elizabeth Page : 

156. Mary Elizabeth, b. 19 June, 1850; d. unm. 

157. Hugh Nelson, b. 17 July, 1852; m. Sarah Newton. 

158. Holt Wilson, b. 28 Oct., 1853; m., 22 Jan., 1878, Harriet W., 

daughter of Marshall Parks of Norfolk, Va. Ihey had: (i) Mar- • 
shall Parks Page, b. 29 Oct., 1878; (2) Elizabeth Burwell Page, b. 
30 Jan., 1880. 

159. Carter Bruce, b. 24 May, 1855. 

160. Edmund John Rutter, b. 22 Nov., 1857. 

VI. (124) John C.a.ry Page of Union Hill, Cumberland Co., Va., ist son of Major Carter 
Page of Willis Fork, by Mary, his first wife, born 9 May, 1784; died 14 May, 1853. 
He married, 12 Oct., 1808, Mary Anna, daughter of Dr. Alexander Trent, of Bar- 
ley Hill, Cumberland Co., Va. She died 10 Jan., 1877. 

VII. Children of John Cary and Mary Anna Page : 

161. Lavinia Anderson, b. 20 June, 1809; m., 1832, Dr. Edward Fisher 

of Staunton, Va., and had issue : (i) George Fisher, m., 1864, Miss 
Woodfin of Powhatan Co., Va. ; (2) John Page Fisher of Haxall's 
Flour Mill, Richmond, Va. ; d. s. p. ; (3) Nannie Ambler Fisher, 
, m., 1858, William H. Kennon of Richmond, Va. She died 1866, 

leaving issue; (4) Eliza Page Fisher, d. unm., 1867; (5) Charles 
Fisher; (6) Edward Fisher. 

162. Mary Anna, b. 26 May, iSll ; m., 1S45, John Daniel, Esq., of Broom- 

field, Cumberland Co., Va. ; d. 1884. He died 1850; issue: (l) 
Lucy Daniel, m., 1869, Francis Kinckel of Lynchburg, Va. ; (2) 
Anna Daniel, m., 1870, M. Lewis Randolph of Edge Hill, Albe- 
marle Co., Va. 

163. Virginia Randolph, b. 17 Aug., 1813; m., 1833, Thomas Hobson of 

Powhatan Co., Va., who died 1850; issue: (i) Mary Anna Hobson, 
m., 1854, Mann Page of Albemarle Co., who died leaving an only 

daughter, Charlotte, who m. Smith, and had: Mann Page 

Smith; (2) Caroline Hobson, unm.; {3) Joseph Hobson, unm.; (4) 
Virginia Hobson, m., 1863, Richard Archer of Powhatan Co., Va., 
and had issue; (5) Thomas Hobson, Jr., d. s. p.; (6) Ellen Hob- 
son, m. George N. Guthrie of Gallatin, Sumner Co., Tenn. ; (7) 

Clara Hobson, m. Nash, issue; (8) Alexander Hobson; (9) 

Cary Hobson. 

164. Eliza Trent, b. 19 Oct., 1815; d. unm., 1838. 

165. Ellen Cary, b. 19 June, 1817; d. unm., 1837. 

166. Alexander Trent, b. 21 Nov., 1819; d. 4 April, 1845; m., 1840, 

Martha Henderson of Northfield, Va., and had : Martha Henderson 
Page, m., 1867, Mr. .Stewart of Alexandria, Va. She died 1870, 
leaving issue two sons. 

167. Maria Willis, b. 18 Jan., 1822; d. 1862; m., 1843, Rev. Wm. H. 

Kinckel of Lynchburg, Va., and had issue: (l) Francis Kinckel, 
m., 1869, Lucy Daniel, issue; (2) Anna Kinckel, m., circa 1870, 



206 GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 

J. P. Williams of Lynchburg, Va. ; (3) William Kinckel ; (4) Maria 
Kinckel; (5) John Kinckel; (6) J. Carrington Kinckel; (7) Alex- 
ander Gilmer Kinckel; (8) Frederick Kinckel. 

168. Archibald Gary, b. 22 April, 1824; d. 187 1 ; m., 1846, Lucy, daughter 

of Dr. John Trent of Trenton, Cumberland Co., Va., and had issue : 
(I) William H. Page, b. 1845 ; (2) John C. Page. Archibald Gary 
Page m., 2dly, circa 1853, Lizzie Trent, and had: Archibald Gary 
Page, Jr. Archibald Gary Page m., 3dly, 1869, Eliza Harrison of 
Richmond, Va. ; no issue. 

169. Garter, b. 25 March, 1826; d. infant. 

170. Harriet Randolph, b. 15 April, 1827; m., 1857, D. Goupland Ran- 

dolph of Richmond, Va., son of Isham Randolph; issue: (i) Mary 
A. Randolph; (2) D. G. Randolph, Jr.; (3) B. Heath Randolph. 

171. John Gary, b. 22 Feb., 1830; m., ist, 1858, Nellie, daughter of Dr. 

Wm. J. Eppes of Millbrook, Buckingham Go., Va., by whom he 
had issue: (l) W^m. J. Page, b. 1859; (2) Mary A. Page; (3) 
Martha Burke Page. Mrs. Nellie Eppes Page d. circa 1878. John 
Gary Page m., 2dly, having removed to Glay Bank, Cumberland Co., 
Va., Julia Trent, widow of John Taylor Gray of Richmond, Va. 

172. Edward Trent, b. 20 May, 1833; removed to Halfway Branch, Cum- 

berland Co., Va. He m., 1854, Elizabeth, daughter of J. S. Nich- 
olas of Seven Islands, and had issue: (i) Nannie Nicholas Page, 
married in Lynchburg; {2) Mary Byrd Page; (3) John Nicholas 
Page; (4) Edward Trent Page, Jr. ; (5) Elizabeth Goupland Page. "^ 

VL (125) Henry Page of Todd Co., Ky., 2d son of Major Garter Page of the Fork, by 
Mary, his first wife, born 29 Sept., 1785; died 1845. He m., 23 Dec, 1813, Jane 
B. Deane. 

VI I. Children of Henry and Jane B. Page : 

173. Mary Gary, b. 27 Oct., 1814; m., 23 Dec, 1S40, Rev. George McPhail. 

He d. 1870; issue: (l) Jane McPhail, d. s. p.; (2) Mary McPhail, 
m. Rev. Mr. Davis; (3) Henry McPhail, m. , and lives in Nor- 
folk, Va. : (4) Lillian McPhail, m. Rev. Mr. Irving. 

174. Thomas Deane, b. 27 July, 1816; removed to Henry Co., Mo., and 

d. 31 Jan., 1864. He m., 1846, Isabella Gatlett of Todd Co., Ky., 
and had issue: (i) Fannie Gatlett Page, m., 28 Oct., 1874, William 
McCown, who d. 1875; (2) Henry Page, b. 27 Dec, 1849; m., 9 
Jan., 1878, Maud G. Crews; (3) Jane Deane Page, b. 1851 ; d. 
infant; (4) Thomas Deane Page, b. 20 Oct., 1853; (5) Calmere 
Gatlett Page, b. 24 April, 1856; (6) Garter Page, d. young; (7) Isa- 
bella Page, b. 22 April, 1859; (8) John Gary Page, b. 12 Feb., 1861. 

175. Garter Page, b. 4 May, 1818; m., 1st, 14 Dec, 1843, Elizabeth Byers, 

by whom he had : Henry Gary Page, d. infant. He m., 2dly, 6 Jan., 
1S53, Sarah Bell Miller of Gynthiana, Ky., and had issue : (l) Eliza- 
beth Deane Page, b. 10 Sept., 1854; (2) Henry Page, b. I Oct., 
1856, of Chillicotbe, Mo.; (3) Isaac Newton Page, b. Feb., 185S; 



GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 207 



(4) Eglantine Page, b. i860; (5) James Page, b. 1862; (6) Vir- 
ginia Lee Page, b. 1865; d. infant; (7) Catherine Page, b. 1867; 
d. infant. 

176. Eliza Wallace, b. 2 July, 1820; m., 1 851, Jonathan Clarke Temple of 
Logan Co., Ky., but d. s. p. 

177. Rev. James Jellis, b. 7 July, 1822; m. 16 Dec, 1851, Virginia, 
daughter of E. W. Newton of Charleston, W. Va. They had issue : 
(i) Wood Newton Page, b. 13 Nov., 1852; (2) Rev. Henry Deane 
Page, b. 2 Nov., 1854; (3) Sarah Bell, b. 28 July, 1856; (4) Rev. 
Thomas Carter Page, b. 8 Dec., 1858; (5) Mary Wallace Page, b. 
17 Nov., i860; (6) Lilla Leigh Page, b. 7 May, 1868. 

178. Anne Catherine, b. 13 Jan., 1825; m., 1850, Dr. Charles A. Williams 

of Chillicothe, Mo.; d. 1878; issue: (i) Jane Clark Williams, b. 

14 Aug., 1852; m., I Jan., 1874, Henry M. Hatton of Chillicothe, 

and had two children, of whom Hubert McPhail, b. 18 Sept., 1877, 
! survives; (2) Lucy Washington Williams, b. 22 Dec, 1855; (3) 

! . Henry Page Williams, d. young; (4) Charles Williams, b. 3 Feb., 

1866. 

179. Martha P)ell, b. 17 Feb., 1S27; unm. 

! VL (129) Dr. Mann Pack of Keswick, son of Major Carter Page of the Fork, by Mary, 
i his first wife, born 26 Oct., 1791 ; died 15 May, 1850. He was educated at Hamp- 

j den Sidney College, Va., and afterward graduated in medicine at Philadelphia; 

lived at Turkey Hill, near Cobham, Albemarle Co., Va. ; married. 12 Dec, 1815, 
I at Richmond, Va., Jane Frances, daughter of Hon. Francis Walker of Castle Hill, 

I Albemarle Co., Va., and Jane Pyrd Nelson of Yorktown, Va., his wife. 

I Vn. Children of Mann and Franres Page : 

' 180. Maria, b. 14 Dec, 1816; d, unm. 

181. Ella, b. 18 Sept., 1818; d. unm. 

182. Francis Walker, b. 17 Nov., 1820; d. 1846; m., 1844, Anna E., 

daughter of Benjamin F. Cheesman. They had : Francis Walker 
Page of .Staunton, Va., unm. 

183. Carter Henry, b. 21 Nov., 1S22; m., 1857, Leila, daughter of Capl. 

William Graham of Baltimore, Md., and had issue: (i) Leila 
Graham Page of Charlottesville, Va. ; (2) William Graham Page 
of Charlottesville, Va. ; (3) Carter H. Page of Philadelphia, m. 
Elizabeth H. Roberts; (4) Mary Bowdoin Page, ra., 1892, Gilbert 
Bonham Bird of England. 

184. John Cary, b. 9 Jan.. 1824; d. infant. 

185. Frederick Winslow. b. 20 Nov., 1826; m., 1S50, Anne K., daughter 

of Dr. Thomas W. Meriwether of Kinloch, Va., and Anne Carter 
Nelson, his wife. His first wife d. 1867, and he m., 2dly, 1883, 

Lucy Cook Beale, widow of Brent. By his first wife he had 

issue: (l) Jane Walker Page, m. Thomas Walker Lewis; issue; 
(2) Eliza M. Page, d. unm.; (3) Annie Nelson Page, m. Nathaniel 
Coleman of News Ferry, Halifax Co., Va., and has issue; (4) Fred- 



208 GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 



erick K. I'age of Millwood, Albemarle Co , Va., m. Flora Temiile, 
daughter of William Lewis of same county, and has issue: William 
Douglas Page, Evelyn Mabry Page, Frederick Byrd Page, Fannie 
Campbell Page, Robert Shackleford Page; (5) William Douglas 
Page, d. unm. ; (6) Evelyn Byrd Page, m. John M. Coleman of 
Halifax Co., Va. ; issue; (7) Mildred Nelson Page, unm. 

1S6. Jane Walker, b. 18 Oct., 1828; d. unm. 

187. Mann, b. i May, 1831 ; d. Nov., 1S64; m-, 15 May, 1855, Mary 
Anderson Hobson of Powhatan Co., Va., and left issue : Charlotte 
Nelson Page, b. 10 Nov., 1859; m., 1SS3, William Edward Smith 
of North Carolina, and has : Mann Page Smith. 

18S. Charlotte Nelson, b. 25 March, 1S32 ; d. unm. 

189. William Wilmer, b. 31 March, 1835; d. s. p. 

190. Thomas Walker, b. 18 April, 1S37; d. 1887; m., 1S61, Nannie Wat- 

son, daughter of James Morris of Sylvan Green Springs, Louisa 
Co., Va ; issue: (l) Ella Rives Page; (2) James Morris Page; (3) 
Thomas Walker Page ; (4) Constance Morris Page ; (5 ) Mann Page ; 
(6) Susan Rose Page. 

191. Dr. Richard Channing, b. 2 Jan., 1841 ; m. ^Lary Elizabeth Fitch. 

VI. (134) William Nelson P.age of ^a Ira, Cumberland Co., Va.. 3d son of Major Car- 
ter Page of the Fork, by Lucy Nelson, his 2d wife, born 28 Feb., 1803. He mar- 
ried, 1827, Fannie P., daughter of Isham Randolph of Richmond, Va. 

Vn. Childrett of William Nelson and Fannie P. Page : 

192. Dr. Isham Randolph, b. circa 1834; m., ist, 1863, Virginia Barton 

of Lexington, Va., and had an only daughter, Virginia Barton Page, 
b. 1S64. He m., 2dly, 30 Oct., lS66, Charlotte Stevens of Balti- 
more, Md., and had issue: (l) Francis McIIenry Page, b. 1867; 
(2') Robert Stevens Page, b. 1869. 

193. Anne Randolph, d. infant. 

194. Philip Nelson, d. young. 

195. William Nelson, d. young. 

196. Rev. Coupland Randolph, b. circa 1842; m., 1S76, Ellen Baker of 

Winchester, Frederick Co.. \'a. 

197. Lucia Harrison, d. young. 

I9S. Fannie Randolph, b. circa 1S46; m., 1873, I^ev. C. W. Meredith of 
the Episcopal Church. 

VI. (137) Thomas Page of Locust Grove, Va., 5th son of Major Carter Page of the Fork, 
by Lucy Nelson, his 2d wife, born 8 June, 1S07 ; died 4 July. 1874; 
married. 5 Nov., 1839, Sar.ah, daughter of John W. Page of White 
Hall, Clarke Co., Va. 
\ 1 1 . Children of Thomas and Sarah Page : 

199. Dr. Robert, b. 12 Jan., 1S42; m., 18 Dec, 1S7S, Anna, daughter of 

Willis W. Hobson. 

200. Carter, b. 1844. 



GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 209 

201. Lucy Nelson, b. 17 Jan., 1852; m., 5 Sept., 1877, W. T. Johnson of 

Powhatan Co., Va., and has: Sarah P. Johnson. 

202. James Chishohii, b. 1S55. 

203. Thomas Nelson, b. 6 June, 1S60. 

204. Williaraia, b. 27 Oct., 1864. 

VI. (140) John Page of North End, ist son of Hon. Robert Page of Janeville, by Sarah, 
his wife, born 2 Sept., 1792. He m., ist, 1829, Jane, daughter of Francis Nelson 
of Mt. Airy, and 2dly, 1836, Sarah Williamson of Glenoker, Tanquier Co., Va. 

Vn. Children of John and Jane Page : 

205. Robert Francis, b. circa 1820; removed to Campbell Co., Va. ; m., 

1847, Lavinia Sullivan, daughter of James Christian of Kent Co., Va. ; 
issue: (I) Edwin Randolph Page, b. 19 Sept., 1849; m., 1874, Olivia 
McDaniel of Jones Co., N. C. ; (2) Francis Nelson Page, b. 14 May, 
1S57, of Richmond, Va. ; (3) Roberta Frances Page, b. 14 May, 1857. 

206. Edwin Randolph, b. 1822; m., 1850, Olivia, daughter of John Alex- 

ander, and had issue: (l) Mary Mann Page, m. Stephen M. Tay- 
lor; (2) William Nelson Page, m., 1882, Emma, daughter of Col. 
William Gilham, and had : Delia Hayden Page, Edwin Randolph 
Page, Josephine Page, Evan Powell Page; (3) Edmonia Randolph 
Page, m., 187S, Thomas A. Bledsoe of Augusta Co., Va. 

207. Judith Carter, b. circa 1824; d. unm. 

20S. Lucy Nelson, b. circa 1828; m., i860, James Madison Sublett of 
Powhatan Co., Va., and had issue: (l) Octavia Page Sublett; (2) 
Mary Carter Sublett; (3) Florence Sublett; (4) Lucy Nelson Sub- 
lett; (5) Olivia Byrd Sublett. 

209. Thomas Mann, b. 1830; removed to Bedford, and m., 1854, Rosalie, 

daughter of James Brown of Buckingham Co., Va., and had: Wil- 
liam Nelson Page, b. about 1855. 
VII. Children of John and Sarah Page : 

210. Helen Page, b. 1839; d. unm. 

211. Rev. William W'illiamson, b. 1841 ; removed to New York ; m., 1877, 

Elizabeth M., daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Pierson of Baltimore, Md. ; 
issue : Lucy Kent Page. 

\TI. (149) Rev. Ch.\rles Henry Page, 2d son of William Byrd Page of Fairfield, 
Clarke Co., Va., by Anne Lee, his wife, born 1801. He m., 1827, Gabriella, 
daughter of Judge Crawford of Amherst Co., Va. 

VHL Children of Rev. Charles Henry and Gabriella Page : 

212. Jane Byrd, m. Thomas Barbour Bryan of Alexandria, Va., and had 

issue: (i) Charles Page Bryan; (2) Jeannie Byrd Bryan. 

213. Elizabeth Spooner, b. circa 1S33; m., circa 1853, Dr. Glover Perin, 

U. S. A., and had issue : ( l) Gabriella Perin, m. Col. Henry Prout; 
(2) Mary Byrd Perin; (3) Lucy Leigh Perin; (4) Charles Page 
Perin; (5) Elizabeth Page Perin; (6) Sophia Perin; (7) Virginia 
Langdon Perin ; (8) Glover Fitzhugh Perin. 
U 



2IO GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 



214. Leigh Richmond, b. circa ICS35; m., 1863, Page Waller of Rich- 
mond, Va. 

215. William Wilmer, b. circa 1S37 ; m., 1S65, Victoria Amiraux of Can- 
ada. They had issue: (ij Gabriella Page; (2) William Wilmer 
I'age ; (3) Thayer Page. 

216. Roger Jones, b. circa 1S39; removed to Louisville, Ky. ; m., 1867,- 
Mary, daughter of Hon. John Mitchell, and had: John Mitchell 
Page. 

217. Sophia Perin, b. circa 1841 ; m., 1862, Prof. Nathaniel Shaler of Cam- 
bridge, Mass. They had issue: (i) Gabriella Shaler; (2) Anna 
Shaler. 

218. Charles Henry, b. circa 1845; m., 1876, Annie Brown of Oregon. 

219. Lucy Fitzhugh Meade, unm. 

Vin. (214) Leigh Richmond Page of Richmond, Va., lawyer, 1st son of Rev. Charles 
Henry Page, by Gabriella, his wife, born circa 1835 ; married, 1863, Page, daughter 
of Logan Waller of Richmond, Va. 

IX. Children of Leigh Richmond and Page Page: 

220. Mary Lee. 

221. Charles Henry. 

222. Leigh Richmond. 

223. Waller. 

224. Brooks. 
/ 225. Gabriella, d. infant. 

IV. (14) Robert Page of Broadneck, Hanover Co., Va., 3d son of Hon. Mann Page of 
Rosewell, by Judith Carter, his wife, born 1722; died 1768. He married, 20 Jan., 
1750, Sarah Walker. 

V. Children of Robert and Sarah Page : 

226. Mann, d. infant. 

227. Robert, b. 15 T»ne, 1752; m., 1779, Mary Braxton of Chericoke, King 
William Co., Va. 

228. Mann, d. infant. 

229. Judith, b. 15 Oct., 1756; m., i Sept., 1774, John Waller. They had: 
(i) Sarah Waller, m. Richard Byrd ; (2) Benjamin Waller, m. Miss 
Travis; (3) Martha H. Waller, m., 1st, 1810, William Montague; 
2dly, Joseph \\. Travis; (4) Jolin Waller, m., 1S18, Miss Green- 
ham; (5) Dorothy Waller, d. unin. 

230. Catherine, b. 7 Nov., 1758; m., Feb., 1778, Benjamin Carter Waller 
of Williamsburg, and had issue; (i) Martha Waller, m., ist, 1800, 
Geo. W. Holmes ; 2dly, Lawrence Mense ; (2) Benjamin C. Waller, 
m. Harriet Catlett ; (3) William Waller, m. Mary Berkeley Griffin; 
(4) Dr. Robert Page Waller, m., Ist, circa 1815, Eliza C. Griffin; 
2dly, Julia W. Mercer. 

231. John, b. 29 Jan., 1760; m., 1784, Maria H. Byrd. They were of 
Pagebrook. (See Byrd of Westover.) 



GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 211 

232. Matthew, b. 4 March, 1762 ; m. Anne, daughter of Richard K. Meade, 

and had issue: (l) Sally Page, m. Rev. Charles W. Andrews; (2) 
Mary Frances Page, m. Rev. J. R. Jones. 

233. Walker, d. unni. 

234. Sarah Walker, b. 16 Peb., 1766; m., 17S8, Hon. Robert Page of Jane- 

ville, Clarke Co., Va. 

V. (227) Robert Page, TR-, of Broadneck, 2d son of Robert Page of same place, by 
Sarah, his wife, born 15 June, 1752; died 1794. He m., 1779, Mary, daughter of 
Carter Braxton of Chericoke, King William Co., Va. 

YI. Children of Robert and Mary Page : 

235. Robert, d. s. p. 

236. Carter Braxton, d. s. p. 

237. Sarah Walker, b. 1784; m. Humphrey Brooke, and had issue: (l) 

Mary Brooke, m. Helm; (2) Elizabeth Brooke, m. Thomas 

Blackburn ; (3) Anna Brooke, m., 1830, Oliver A. Shaw of Louisiana. 
They had : Johann, Eliza, Oliver, Herbert, Sarah, Stephen, and 
Judith; they removed to California; (4) Robert Brooke, m. Eliza 
Smith, and had: Robert Carter Brooke; (5) .Sarah Walker 
Brooke, m. Samuel Williamson ; (6) Hon. Walker Brooke, m. 
Miss Eskridge. 

238. John W., b. 1786; m., ist, 1S12, Jane Byrd Page; 2dly, 1823, Emily 

Smith of Winchester, Va. 

239. Judith Robinson, b. 178S; d. unm. 

240. Walker Y., b. 1 790; d. unm. 

241. Martha and Catherine, d. unm. 

V. (231) John Page of Pagebrook, Clarke Co., Va., 4th son of Robert Page of Broad- 
neck, by Sarah, his wife, born 29 June, 1760; died 17 Sept., 1838. He m., 1784, 
Maria Horsmanden, daughter of Col. William E. Byrd of Westover. 

W. Children of John and Maria H. Page : 

242. Nancy, d. infant. 

243. Mary W., m., 1816, Benjamin Harrison of Berkeley. (See Harrison.) 

244. William Byrd, b. 1 790; m., Ist, Evelyn Byrd Nelson; 2dly, Eliza 

M. Atkinson. 

245. Sarah Walker, m., 1815, Major Thomas M. Nelson. 

246. Dr. Robert Powell, b. 11 Jan., 1794; m., ist, 1819, Mary Francis; 

2dly, 1839, Susan G. Randolph. 

247. John E., b. II March, 1796; m., 1823, Emily McGuire. 

248. Abby B., b. Aug., 1798; m., 1816, John Hopkins of Winchester, Va. 

249. Dr. Matthew, b. 1801 ; removed to North Carolina. He m., 1st, 

1829, Mary, daughter of Josiah Collins; 2dly, 1848, Henrietta Eliz- 
abeth Collins, and had by her: Herbert Henry Page, b. 15 Nov., 
185 1 ; m., 1876, Mary Louise, daughter of John Herbert Claiborne 
of Petersburg, Va., and had issue : (i) Herbert C. ; (2) Byrd Alston; 
(3) Weldon Bathhurst. 



212 GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 



VI. (238) John White Page of White Hall, Va., 3d son of Robert Page, Jr., of Broad- 
neck, born 1786; died 19 Oct., 1S61. He m.. 1st, 1S12, Jane Byrd Page; 2dly, 
Feb., 1833, Emily Smith. 

VII. Children of John //'. itiia Jane Byrd Page : 

250. Robert Matthew, d. s. p. 

251. Walker Vates, m. Nannie C. Tyler. 

252. Sarah, b. 7 Aug.. iSiS; d. unni. 

253. Nathaniel B., d. s. p. 

254. Mary 1!.. d. iinni. 

255. Jane 1!., b. j; May. 1SJ3; d. 27 I'eb.. 1S55; m.. 1S47, Rev. James 

Chisholm, and had : William 15. Chisholm. 

256. John White, b. 9 Nov., 1S24; m., 1855, Ellen West, and had issue: 

(i) Judith Robinson Page; (2) George West Page of New Vork; 
(3) William C. Page of New Vork ; (4) Ellen West Page; (5) Eliza 
Byrd Page ; (6) Jane Byrd Page. 

257. Judith Robinson, b. 7 March, 1826; d. unm. 

258. Carter Braxton, b, iS June, 1S29; m., 1st, Emily Armistead; 2dly, 

I Nov., 1S67, Evelina Gray. 

\1. (244) WiLi.iAM BvRD Page of Pagebrook, ist son of John Page, by Maria H.. his I 
wife, born 1790; died i Sept., 1828. He m.. ist, 1S23, Evelyn Byrd, daughter of 
Judge William Nelson ; 2dly, Eliza ]Mayo>tf * I'rjS « n 

VII. Children of William Byrd and Evelyn Byrd Page : 

259. Anne Willing, m. Thomas Carter. 

260. Dr. William Byrd, b. circa 1817; removed to Philadelphia, Pa.; m. 

Celestina, daughter of Samuel Davis of Louisiana, and had issue : 
(i) S. Davis Page; (2) Margaret, m. Henry Harrison. 

261. John, b. 1820; m., 1845, Lucy Mann Burwell. 

VII. Children of William Byrd and Eliza Page : 

262. Evelvn r.vrd. m. Richard Henry Lee of Cirafton. 

263. Mary, ni. William Norborn. (Vei« •*> 

VI. (246) Dr. Rokkkt Powei.i. P.\ge of Briars. Clarke Co.. Va., 2d son of John Page 
(if Pagebrook, by Maria II.. his wife, born li Jan.. 1704; died March, 1S49. ^'e 
m., 1st. 1S19, Mary, daughter of Thomas Willing Francis of Philadelphia; 2dly, 
1839, Susan Grymes, daughter of Archibald Randolph. 
VII. Children of Dr. Robert Powell and Mary Page : 

264. Maria B., m. Ma\hew Wainwright of New Vork. 

265. Dora W.. m. Nathaniel Burwell. 

266. Nancy F., m. Joseph Pleasants of Philadelphia. 
VII. Children of Dr. Robert Po7oell and Susan Grymes Page .- 

267. Elizabeth P., d. unm. 

268. Mary Francis, m. John Esten Cookf 

269. Lucy B.. b. 1842; m. Capt. William P. Carter. 

270. Robert Powell, m. Agnes, daughter of Geo. H. Burwell. 



GENEALOGY OF THE PAGE FAMILY. 213 



VI. (247) Judge John E. Pagk of Pagebrook, 3d son of John Page, by Maria H., bis 
wife, born II March, 1796; d. 4 March, i!S8l. He m., 1823, Emily McGuire. 

VII. ChildiiH of JoJtn K. and Emily Page : 

271. John v., iinni. 

272. Mary M., unin. 

273. Emma, m. Philip Nelson. 

274. Anne W., m. Dr. William Douglass. 

275. Dr. Robert P., in. Martha Turner. 

276. Jane McCJuire, unni. 

277. Evelyn Byrd, (.1. unni. 

278. Edward Charles, d. infant. 

279. William Byrd. 

VII. (251) Waikkr Yates Page of Frederick, Md., 1st son of John W. Page of White 
Hall, by Jane Byrd, his first wife, born 16 Dec, 1816; married, 1S58, Nannie C, 
daughter of Dr. William Tyler of Frederick, Md. 

VIII. Ckildivn of IValker Vates and Nannie C. Page : 
2S0. Mary Addison, m. William Stiles. 

281. Nannie Walker. 
2S2. William Tvler. 



THE CARTERS OF \'1RG1N1A. 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



PART I 



Among the prominent families of the historic Old Dominion, 

illustrious in Colo- 
nial days for per- _5^^ 

sonal worth and , 

talent, for their i.^v-'i,x 

distinguished so- 
cial position, for 
I the prestige that 
' came from the pos- 
I session of high po- 
' litical office, and 
j for the consider- 
, ation that attached 
' to the ownership 

of large landed 
j estates and many 

slaves, none took 

precedence of the 

Carters, though 

others might claim 

to rank beside 

them. 

John Carter of 

"Corotoman," the 

first of the family in Virginia, came over from England about 

217 




CARTKR ARMS. 



2i8 THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



the year 1649, '^^d i^ seems probable from his RoyaHst pro- 
cHvities, as shown later, that he was one of the "distressed 
Cavaliers " who sought refuge in the loyal Colony in such num- 
bers at this period, one ship only, in 1649, bringing over three 
hundred and thirty of the king's followers. Settling first in 
Upper Norfolk (now Nansemond) County, John Carter imme- 
diately made his influence felt as a man of character and ability, 
representing his county in the House of Burgesses soon after 
his arrival in Virginia. In October, 1665, he was granted, as 
"Colonel John Carter, Esq., Councillor of State," four thou- 
sand acres of land for transporting eighty persons into the 
Colony. 

In regard to the English origin of the Carter family, it has 
been supposed that John Carter was the son of William Car- 
ter of Carstown, Hertfordshire, and of the Middle Temple, 
whose pedigree was entered in the visitation of 1636. But 
this proves to be an error, and it seems likely now, in view 
of recent researches, that Colonel John Carter of Virginia 
was the brother of Colonel Edward Carter, a member of the 
Virginia Council in 1659. The will of Colonel Edward Car- 
ter, probated in 1682, shows him to have been of Edmonton, 
Middlesex. He disposes of much property in Virginia, and 
speaks of having resided on the Nansemond River. His 
property in England, a third part of which went to his son 
Edward, and which seems to have been an inherited estate, 
was in Buckinghamshire, at Chalfont St. Peter's, where the 
family-seat was probably located. 

John Carter went from Nansemond to Lancaster County, 
where he subsequently resided. As Major John Carter he 
appears in the records of Lancaster County in 1653, when he 
held the office of justice of the peace, a Colonial place of 
honor and importance in the government of the county. He 
was Burgess from Lancaster in 1654, and his name is written 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 2ig 



this year, for the first time, in the vestry-book of the parish. 
About this time he commanded the forces sent from Lan- 
caster County against the Rappahannock Indians. He was 
made presiding justice and colonel-commandant of Lancaster 
in 1656. In a deed of gift to his niece, Eltonhead Conway, 
dated April 9th, 1656, he describes himself as "Colonel John 
Carter of Rap" Riv^er in the County of Lancaster in Virginia, 
Esq." His name first appears as a member of the Council in 
1657. He incurred the displeasure of the English Common- 
wealth authorities in 1659 for his sympathy with the Stuart 
[cause, as the records show, for on April 8th of this year Gov- 
ernor Matthews issued a warrant to the sheriff of Lancaster 
to arrest Colonel John Carter and bring him before the gov- 
ernor and Council at Jamestown. He was "charged with 
'contempt of the late commission of the Government sent out 
'by His Highness [Cromwell] and the Lords of the Council." 
(Colonel Carter was at this time a member of the Burgesses. 

[With the Restoration he resumed his place in the Council, 

I 

land March 28th, 1663, with Governor Berkeley, Colonel Ed- 
ward Carter, and others, he sioned the Virofinia Remonstrance 
'against granting lands in the Northern Neck to certain lords, 
favorites of Charles II. This might indicate that Colonel 
[John Carter had, in a measure, repented of his old Royalist 
leaning, and that his fellow Colonists, deeming his repent- 
ance sincere, had received him back again into their political 
and social fellowship. What motive he could have had for a 
change cannot be conjectured. 

In April of this year Governor Berkeley wrote to the gov- 
ernor of Maryland in reference to the excessive planting of 
tobacco in the two colonies : " I and the Councill here have 
considered of the means of redress, and authorize the Gen- 
tlemen of the Councill, Colonel Richard Lee, Colonel Robert 



220 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



Smith, Colonel John Carter, and Mr. Henry Corbyn, our 
commissioners to communicate our results to you, and ap- 
pointed the nth day of May next to be the time and the 
county court-house of Northumberland the place of confer- 
ence." The commission met at the house of Major Isaac 
Allerton, and signed a report. May, 1663. 

Colonel John Carter built, by contract, the first church 
standing where Christ Church, Lancaster County, now is, 
and the vestry received it at the hands of his son, John Car- 
ter, six months after Colonel Carter's death. 




ul.D LllKl.-^l lUlKCll, VA. 



While fighting Indians, looking after tobacco-planting, 
serving as justice, vestryman. Burgess, councillor, and county 
lieutenant. Colonel John Carter found leisure to marry five 
times. It had long been thought that he had but three wives. 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 221 



His epitaph on the tombstone where he was buried, with cer- 
tain of his wives and children, near the chancel in the church 
w^hich he had built, is so ambiguously worded that it is diffi- 
cult to distinguish wife from daughter : 

" Here lyeth buried ye body of John Carter, Esq., who died ye loth of 
fune, Anno Domini 1669 ; and also Jane, ye daughter of Mr. Morgan Glyn, 
and (ieorge her son, and Elenor Carter, and Ann, ye daughter of Mr. Cleave 
Carter, and Sarah, ye daughter of Mr. Gabriel Ludlow, and Sarah her 
daughter, which were all his wives successively, and died before him. 
' Blessed are ye dead which die in ye Lord ; even soe, saith ye Spirit, for 
they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.' " 

Colonel Carter married, first, apparently, Jane Glyn, who 
was the mother of George, John, and Elizabeth Carter. His 
second wife, Eleanor, the widow Brocas, of the ancient family 
of Eltonhead of Eltonhead, Lancashire, whose four sisters 
married into Virginia and Maryland families and left descend- 
ants, seems to have had no children. The third wife, Anne, 
the daughter of Cleave Carter, who was probably a cousin, 
as " Cleve " is the name of one of the Carter places, also 
died childless. Sarah Ludlow, Colonel John Carter's fourth 
wife, died in or before 1668, and was the mother of Robert 
Carter of "Corotoman," popularly known as "King Carter." * 
Colonel Carter's fifth wife, who is mentioned in his will, was 
Elizabeth Shirley, and she had one son, Charles Carter, of 
whom nothing is known beyond the mention of his name in 
the wills of his father and his brother John. The evidence 
for the Ludlow maternal parentage of "King Carter," cor- 
roborating the statement as made by one of his descendants, 
is to be found in the arms on the tombstone over his first 
wife. This is decorated with two shields, each bearino- the 

o 

* "Ancestry of Uenjamiii Ilarri.son, I'rcsident of the United States of America 1889— 
1893, and Notes on Families Related,"' by Charles P. Keith, Philadelphia, 1893. 

The writer of this article is indebted to the kindness of Mr. Keith for much of the mate- 
rial used in its prejiaration. 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGIXIA. 



Carter arms (azure, a chevron or. between three wheels'^ uii- 
paled. witli another coat. The impaled arms of one shield 
bears diree crosses croslet, and is to be interpreted as repre- 
senting Colonel John Carter's modier or paternal grand- 
mother. The families o\ Kerby. Thears. and Candishe all 
bore the three crosses croslet. the difference being in the 
tinctures. The female half of the odier shield (a chevron 





.^.^^ 



CHKISV OHrKi.1-:. VA. INIKKIOK KKOM VKON V IXX^R. 

bet\veen three heads, erased, of animals, evidentlv martens, 
as borne by Ludlow I could only be appropriate to Robert 
Carter as die son of the Ludlow marriage. It may be noted 
also that the name of "'Ludlow" was given to the place of 
one ot King Carter's grandsons. From Robert, the only son 
of Colonel John Carter and Sarah Ludlow, all the Carters of 
Virginia, of whose ancestry anything is now known, are 
descended. 

Colonel John Carter's will, preserved at Lancaster Court- 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



house, is dated January 3d, 1669, and he cHed, as has been 
seen, the following- June, lie left the lands and houses at 
" Corotoman," where he lived, to his son John, and to his son 
Robert he left a thousand acres " lying on a branch of Coroto- 
man." Init if lohn dieil without heirs. Robert was to have his 
brother's portion. Elizabeth Carter, own sister of John and 
half-sister of Robert, was married at the date of her father's 
will to Colonel Nathaniel I'tie of the manor of " Sperutia " in 
Marxland, and had already received her share oi her father's 
propertv. Among- the items mentioned in his personal estate, 
Colonel Carter left to Robert "his mother's hoop ring and 
crvstall necklace." and John received "his mother's hoop 
ring and the Elizabeth piece of gold. " which is supposed to 
have been a medal. To John also, as the eldest son and 
heir, his father left his "seal ring, rapier, watch, and wearing- 
apparell." as well as most of his books. A sixth part of the 
library fell to Robert, and a few books are enumerated by 
Colonel Carter which are to go to his wife. " David's Tears." 
an appropriate souvenir for a mourning widow, and " The 
Whole Duty of Man " being among them. He provides for 
his son Robert's education in the following manner: "He is 
to have a man or youth servant bought for him, that hath been 
brought up in the Latin school, and that he (the senant) 
shall constantly tend upon him. not only to teach him his 
books, either in English or Latin, according to his capacity 
(for my will is that he shall learn both Latin and English, and 
to write), and also to preserve him from harm and from doing 
evil." This was the white indented ser\ant who was often 
well educated and superior to his station, but who was, fc^r 
the time being, as much the propert)" of his master as the 
negro slave. Charles was an infant at the time of his father's 
death, and Robert was between five and six years old. 

In the inventor}- of Colonel lohn Carter's personal estate, 



/ 



224 THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



which was recorded in 1670, and was vakied at die large sum 
of ^2250, we learn something as to the furnishing of his 
house. There were fifteen " turkie-work chairs, twenty-one 
leather chairs, eight turkie-work cushions, six Spanish tables," 
among the many things enumerated ; with silver plate, two 
silver tankards, valued at ^13, a large silver salt-cellar, two 
silver porringers, and silver spoons. And there was much 
table linen, some of it evidently marked with Colonel Carter's 
own initials and those of two (or three) of his wives, as J. C, 
A. C, E. C, but some of it, marked M. V. and S. V. F., is 
not so easily accounted for. It has been suggested that 
the unidentified arms on the Carter tomb above referred 
to belonged to the family represented by these mysterious 
initials. It is observable that one of the " headrights " in 
Colonel John Carter's patent of 1665 was John Vinch. But 
Simon Kerby also came to Virginia at this time, and the arms 
of Kerby are the three crosses croslet. The name of John 
Carter, Jr., appears in Christ Church parish, with that of his 
father, as a member of the vestry in 1666, the Carter names 
preceding that of the clergyman on the vestry-book — some- 
thing not found in any other parish. 

In March, 1675, the Assembly empowered "Coll. William 
Ball and Lieut.-coll. John Carter, or either of them, in the 
county of Lancaster," to impress men and horses for the 
defence of the county against the Indian enemy. 

Colonel John Carter, Jr., was also a justice of the peace 
in 1676. He appears to have married twice — first, a Miss 
Lloyd ; and secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of Raleigh Travers 
of Lancaster County. This lady married herself a second 
time, and her last husband had been twice married before ; 
while her mother, as the records of Lancaster County prove, 
had taken to herself no less than five husbands, and may 
also have had a sixth one. " The number of times and the 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 225 



rapidity with which these old Colonial people married is 
astonishing," writes a Virginia antiquarian. "It was not at 
all an unusual thing-," he adds, " for a later husband to sub- 
mit for probate the will of his predecessor." 

When Colonel John Carter, Jr., came to make his will in 
1690, he left to his brother Robert all his law and Latin 
books, with his sword, cane, and periwig. He divided his 
"books of divinity" between his wife and daughter. The 
inventory of his personal property includes seventy-one 
slaves : he owned, altogfether, one hundred and six. The titles 
are given of sixty-three books in his library, including Latin, 
Greek, Spanish, French, and English authors, embracing the 
subjects of divinity, poetry, and history, proving him to have 
been a man of varied accomplishments and no small culture 
for his time and environment. He and his father together 
had patented over eighteen thousand five hundred acres of 
land. 

"King Carter," Robert of " Corotoman," was born in 
1663, and died in 1732. He married twice — first in 1688, 
and secondly in 1701. His first wife was Judith, eldest 
daughter of John Armistead of "Hesse," and his second 
wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Willis, was the daughter of Thomas 
Landon of Middlesex County, Virginia. Nine of King Car- 
ter's twelve children left descendants, and from his five 
daughters many distinguished men have descended of the 
families of Nelson, Page, Harrison, and others. The popu- 
lar and gifted Southern author, Thomas Nelson Page, traces 
back his ancestry to "King Carter" through Judith, the wife 
of Mann Page of " Rosewell." Of this lady her grandson, 
Governor John Page, wrote : "I was early taught to read 
and write by the care and attention of my grandmother, one 
of the most sensible and best-informed women I ever knew. 
She was a daughter of the Hon. Robert Carter, who was 



16 



226 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



President of the King's Council and Secretary of \^irginia, 
and who at the same time held the rich office of proprietor 
of the Northern Neck by purchase from the Lord Proprietor. 




rouert carter of (.orotd.man — " king carter "' 
[as a young man]. 

his friend, who was contented to receive but ^,^300 per annum 
for it. as the report in the family stated. My orandmodier," 
adds Governor Page. " excited in my mind an inquisitiveness 
which, whenever it was proper, she gratified, and verv soon I 
became so fond of readino- that I read not onlv all the little 




JUDITH ARMIslEAH, ONE OF THE WIVES OE Re HiERT CARTER OV COROTOMAX- 
" KING CARTER " FROM A PORTRATT AT SHIRLEY. 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 229 



amusing and instructing books which she put in my hands, 
but many which I took out of my father's and grandfather's 
collection, which was no contemptible library." Mrs. Page 
of " Rosewell " also educated her niece, Betty Burwell, the 
wife of "President Nelson," as he is called, and the mother 
of Governor Thomas Nelson, Mrs. William Nelson being 
eminent for her piety and fine traits of character. 

Much of interest has been discovered recently relating to 
the family of King Carter's second wife, the mother of Mrs. 
Benjamin Harrison of "Berkeley," of Mrs. George Braxton, 
of Mrs. Henry Fitzhugh of " Eagle's Nest," of Robert Carter 
of " Nomini," Charles Carter of " Cleve," and Landon Carter 
of "Sabine Hall." She was the granddaughter of Sylvanus 
Landon of the Landons of " Credenhill," County Hereford, 
England, and her mother is supposed to be identical with 
the ]\Iary Landon whose interesting and quaint letter to Sir 
Hans Sloane, dated August 24th. 1716, shows her to have 
been a woman of learning and piety — an ancestress worthy 
of notable descendants. Mr. Charles P. Keith has published 
the following extract from Mary Landon's letter, the original 
manuscript being in the British Museum : 

" Honoured Sir : I design to spend my days in y^ service 
of God and in y^' study of philosophy w'ch I have made a little 
progress in, not anufe to lay before your Genious ; but anufe 
to satisfy a simple woman w'ch I must own myself to be or 
else I had never refused y^ happiness of living in your family." 

Of this same Landon connection was the gentle and ill- 
starred poetess, Letitia Elizabeth Landon — " L. E. L.," as she 
always styled herself. 

A lordly and picturesque figure in the Colony was that of 
the Honorable Robert Carter as it is transmitted to us by 
record and tradition. Rector of the college. Speaker of the 
Burgesses and Treasurer, President of the Council, and act- 



2 30 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



ing Governor of Virginia, as well as, in the phrase of his 
greatgrandson, " Proprietor of the Northern Neck," there 
was no office of honor and emolument to which he had not 
attained. He acquired great riches, and, though his will is 
not extant, pages upon pages of a manuscript book in the 
hands of one of his family are filled with the lists of his 
plantations, negroes, and cattle at the time of his death. 




LP CHKISr Cm'KCH, VA., KEAK VIEW. 



An important member of the vestry of Christ Church parish, 
Robert Carter built a church at his own expense on the site 
of the one erected under his father's superintendence, and 
one-fourth of the sacred edifice was reserved for the use of 
his family and dependants. And, as his name took pre- 
cedence of all others in the vestry-book, so he and his house- 
hold always entered the church before the rest of the con- 
gregation, who waited for his coach and retinue to arrive. 
Whether his sobriquet of "King Carter" was given him on 
account of his handsome and imposing person or from his 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 231 

wealth and power is uncertain, but he was evidently a small 
sovereign in his own parish and neighborhood. 

The Christ Church of to-day, the one which "King Carter" 
built, was not completed, however, until about the time of his 
death in 1732. With its beautiful arched ceilings, walls three 
feet thick, and old-fashioned high pews, two of them fifteen 
feet square, one of which near the altar and opposite the 
pulpit was the Carter pew, it still stands, its solid masonry 
defying the elements and the insidious ravages of time. 
The two larcre and handsome tombs erected over Robert 
Carter's wives, Judith Armistead and Betty Landon, of 
which Bishop Meade (a descenciant of the latter) has pre- 
served the inscriptions, and which were in a bad condition in 
1838, having been injured by lightning, are now entirely 
destroyed. A few broken pieces of marble mark the spot 
east of the church where they once stood. And the tomb- 
stone of "King Carter" himself, which was near by, has 
shared very nearly the same fate. Bishop Meade gives the 
long Latin inscription upon it, which he also translates. Of 
the old Carter place, "Corotoman," and of King Carter's 
tomb, St. Leger Landon Carter writes in 1834, placing in 
parallel columns the Latin epitaph and a friend's English 
translation of its sonorous paragraphs. After indulging in 
some remarks upon the influence of the abolition of the law 
of entail, as diminishing the baronial estates of the Colonial 
Virginians and affecting their general prosperity, this de- 
scendant of "King Carter" adds: 

"There is a scene in the County of Lancaster where these 
reflections pressed themselves very forcibly upon my mind. 
Imagine an ample estate on the margin of the Rappahannock, 
with its dilapidated mansion-house ; the ruins of an extensive 
wall made to arrest the inroads of the waves, as if the pro- 
prietor felt himself a Canute and able to stay the progress of 



232 THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



the sea ; a church of the olden times, beaiititul in structure 
and built of brick brought from England, then the home of 
our people. Like Old Mortality. I love to chisel out the 
moss-covered letters of a tombstone, and below I send you 

the result of my labors The epitaph will show by whom 

the church was built and the motive for its erection. In the 
yard are three tombstones conspicuous above all the rest, 
beneath which repose the bones of the once lordly i:)roprietor 
of the soil and his two wixes. 



" Here lies 

Robert Carter, Esij., an honorable man, who exaUed his high birth bv noble 
endowments and pure morals. He sustained the College of William 
and Mary in the most trying times. 

He was Ciovernor, 

Speaker of the House, and Treasurer, under the most serene Princes, 
William, Anne, Cieorge the ist and 2d. Elected Speaker by tlie Public 
Assembly for six years, and Governor for more than a year, , he equally 
upheld the regal dignity and public freedom. Possessed of ample wealth, 
honorably acquired, he built and endowed, at his own expense, this sacred 
edifice, a lasting monument of his piety to God. Entertaining his friends 
with kindness, he was neither a prodigal nor a thrifty host. 

His first wife was Judith, daughter of John Armistead, Esq. ; his second, 
Betty, a descendant of the noble tamily of the Landons, by whom he 
had many children, on whose education he expended a considerable 
portion of his property. 

At length, full of honors and years, having discharged all the duties of an 
exemplary life, he departed from this world on the 4th day of August, 
1732, in the 69th year of his age. The wretched, the widowed, and the 
orphans, bereaved of their comfort, protector, and lather, alike lament 
his loss." 

The tradition once so generally accepted, that the Colonial 
churches were, as a rule, built of bricks brought from Eng- 
land, is now discredited. Christ Church, Lancaster, was 
doubtless built of bricks made nearer at hand, as " Kincr 



THE CARTERS OE MRGINIA: 233 



Carter" had a brick-kiln on his estate, as had also a number 
of his neighbors. 

It was as President of the Council in the interregnum 
between the administrations of two of the royal governors 
that Robert Carter, in 1726-27, held the office of "President 
and Commander-in-chief of Virginia," and administered the 
affairs of the Colony, and his autograph, the "large, bold 
hand" that Bishop Meade speaks of as signed in the vestry- 
books, is now sought for by autograph-collectors to fill out the 
series of Colonial o-overnors. A letter is extant addressed to 
him as Speaker of the House of Burgesses in 1697, anci the 
records of the college show him to have been "visitor" at 
William and Mary in 1723, when he was secretary of the 
Council. While filling the place of Virginia's executive, in 
February, 1726, "King Carter" appointed his son, Robert 
Carter, naval officer and collector of customs for the Rappa- 
hannock River, as appears by the following letter : 

" To the Com'"=' of the Customs : 

Hon^'es . Since the death of the late Gov' and the adminis- 
tration devolving on me, nothing has happened in relation to 
y'^ Customs to give an occasion of trouble yo'' Board, but 
now, the Naval Office of Rapp-'^ District becoming vacant by 
the death of M'' Charles Robinson, I lay hold of this oppor- 
tunity to notify to y'' Hon''^ that I have (with the approbation 
ot the Council) appointed Rob^ Carter, ju"'', to succeed in that 
office. He lives more convenient for the Trade and for dis- 
charging that trust, than any other person I could have found 
capable of that Imployment, and I could say no more to recom- 
mend him to yo*' P'avour, if he was not my Son ; however, as 
he will forthwith offer very substantial Security at yo'" Board, 
and has given the like here, in the meantime, I doubt not this 
a])pointment will deserve yo"" Hon'-^ approbation," 



234 THE CARTERS OF MRGIXIA. 



In 1 69 1, when a town was to be erected in Lancaster 
County for a port of entry, Robert Carter was one of the 
feoffees. 

As agent and receiver of the quit-rents for Thomas, Lord 
Fairfax, Proprietor of the Northern Neck, the peninsula 
between the Rappahannock and the Potomac rivers, an im- 
mense tract of two hundred thousand acres. Colonel Carter 
exercised an authority (^independent of his political offices) 
in six or more counties which added greatly to his power and 
importance. But the position was one in which he was likely 
to make enemies, and doubtless among the proud and, in 
some cases, improvident planters who felt or complained of 
the vexations of a proprietary landlord, there were not want- 
ing those who were ready to charge the "King" with an 
arrogant and dictatorial temper, or with extortion and impo- 
sition in the execution of his trust. This may, in a measure, 
account for his title, and such a spirit probably dictated the 
following impromptu epitaph, scribbled in chalk on his tomb- 
stone, which tradition has handed down to us as a pendant to 
the lotty eulogium graved in stone : 

" Here lies Robin, but not Robin Hood, 
Here lies Robin that never was good, 
Here lies Robin that God has forsaken, 
Here lies Robin the Devil has taken." 

But there is no reason to suppose that "King Carter" 
w^as not the amiable, just, and benevolent man that his friends 
describe ; and Bishop Meade adduces proof, from two of his 
letters, of the " Christian spirit of moderation, and )"et ot 
decision," by which he was actuated in a certain instance 
when ruling the Colony as its governor, where the mani- 
festation of a "dictatorial temper" was conspicuously absent. 

The portrait of Robert Carter, preserved b)- his descend- 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 235 



ants, represents a beautiful youthful face, contrasting with the 
long, white curling wig above it, and a graceful figure attired, 
in the rich costume of the seventeenth-century fine gentleman. 

The Gcntlcnimi s Magazine for November, 1732, contained 
the following notice of King Carter in its list of prominent 
people who had died about that time : 

"Robert Carter, Esq., Aug. 4, in Virginia. He was 
President of the Council, and left among his Children above 
300,000 Acres of Land, about 1000 Negroes, and 10,000/." 

Four sons of "King Carter" shared the family honors and 
estates in the succeeding generation. These were — John of 
" Corotoman," Robert of " Nomini," Charles of " Cleve," and 
Landon of "Sabine Hall." George of " Rippon Hall," the 
youngest son, died early while a student at the Temple in 
London, and was buried in the Temple Church. We find 
in the Virginia Land Ofiice a number of grants to Robert 
Carter and his sons, and these of course do not represent 
all of their landed property. A cursory examination of 
these records shows Robert Carter, Jr., patenting over forty 
thousand acres, exclusive of the land that he took up with 
other persons, which on one occasion exceeded fifty thousand 
acres. Landon Carter received grants amounting to sixty- 
six thousand eight hundred acres, and once he and others 
patented over forty-one thousand acres. These numbers 
convey some idea of the magnificent estates the family 
became possessed of. "The largest proportion of the 
property held by citizens of Virginia in the seventeenth 
century," writes Mr. Philip Alexander Bruce in his valuable 
work recently published, Economic History of Virginia in tJie 
Scventee7itli Century, "was in the form of land. What was 
the extent of the area of soil owned by the leading planters ? 
No accurate answer can be given to this question, because 
it is impossible to say how much each one had inherited or 



236 THE CARTERS OE VIRGINIA. 



acquired by purchase." In the early part of the eighteenth 
century the property of the planters was still largely in land, 
and they had now become, also, large slaveholders. 

A iew years later a Virginian writes : "The very slaves in 
some iamilies here could not be purchased under 30,000^ ster. 
Such amazing property, no matter how deep it is involved, blows 
up the owner to an imagination which is visible in all, but in 
various degrees according to their respective virtue, that they 
are lilted as much above other men in worth and precedence 
as blind, stu|)id fortune has made a difference in their prop- 
erty, excepting always the value they put upon posts of honor 
and mental acquirements. For example, if you should travel 
throughout the Colony with a well-confirmed testimonial of 
your having finished with credit a course of studies at Nassau 
Hall, you would be rated without any more question either of 
your family, your estate, your business, or your intentions, at 
10,000^. And you might come and go, and converse and 
keep company, according to this value, and you would be 
slighted and despised if you rated yourself a farthing cheaper." 
Ihis is certainly a new light on the ancient hospitality of \'ir- 
ginians, and a state of affairs which did not, we think, long ex- 
ist, or was ever practised in other parts of the Old Dominion. 

John Carter of "Corotoman," eldest son of "King Carter." 
was born about 1690. He had studied law at the Inner 
Temple, and in 1722 he was appointed Secretary of X'irginia, 
by which title he is always known. His marriage in 1723 to 
Elizabeth Hill, daughter of Colonel Edward Hill of " Shirley " 
on the James River, brought this estate into the Carter family, 
as on the death of her brother. Colonel Edward Hill, with- 
out heirs, Elizabeth Carter, who appears to have been a beaut\- 
as w^ell as an heiress, inherited " Shirley." Mrs. Carter 
married a second time, and her husband. Rowler Cocke, 
held "Shirlev " by courtesv after her death until his own 




JOHN CARTER OK COROTOMAN. 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



239 



in 1 77 1, when the property went to Charles Carter, Secretary- 
Carter's eldest son. John Carter was living in Williamsburg, 
and Robert Carter on the " Corotoman " estate, apparently 




MISS WILLIAMS, WIFE OF EDWARD HILL OF SHIRLEY. 

in 1726, when Robert Carter, Jr., was appointed naval officer 
of the Rappahannock, and it seems he established his office 
at " Corotoman." " King Carter," who had given his son the 
place, evidently thought it was a very suitable and convenient 
thing to have all the ships stopping at his landing, though the 



240 THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 

"town" planned in 1691 was not to be found there. The 
collector of customs had to supervise all the imports and 
exports and administer the laws regulating- trade in the district 
over which he had control, so that his position was one aftect- 
ine the interests of manv of his neio-hbors ; and we find the 
residents of Middlesex, the county opposite Lancaster, on 
the other side of the Rappahannock, sending up a petition 
to Governor Gooch in 1727 objecting to the location of the 
office, asking that it be removed "from the private house 
of R. Carter. Esq.. to Urbana ;" and this was afterward done. 
An old newspaper of February 4th. 1729. tells briefiy of the 
burning of the fine large house ot Colonel Carter on the 
Rappahannock, and one can only conjecture that this was 
the early " Corotoman " mansion, though it may have been 
" Cleve." farther up the river. 

"Corotoman," which is situated on the river or creek of 
that name, but in full view of the Rappahannock, retained 
its importance in other respects, though it could not remain 
a port of entry, and the "inspector of tobacco at Corotoman " 
comes in for a measure of public censure in 1732, being 
accused of an overbearing temper and of injustice toward 
many who bring their tobacco to him for his decision as to 
whether it is good enough to keep or should be burned. 
This individual's name was Joseph Carter, and it seems likely 
he was a relative of Secretary Carter. At any rate, the latter 
gentleman is disposed to uphold him. " I pacified the people 
last Tuesday at the muster," writes Colonel Edwin Conway 
to Governor Gooch, October 9th, 1732, "by telling them that 

the Secretary had promised to hear their complaints 

]\Iany people were desirous to give their evidence before the 
Secretary, but it is so far to Williamsburg and two great rivers 
to cross, the people so poor and money so scarce." Again 
he writes the following day: "Yesterday I presum'd to write 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



241 



to yo'' Hon'" to inform you how the Secretary had baffled 
me." He thinks Mr, Edwards and Mr, Richard Lee "and the 
minister have used their interest with the Secretary in favor 

of ^Ir. Joseph Carter We are wilhng the Secretary 

may Nominate whom he pleases to be in Mr. Carter's room. 
Enough are wilhng to take the office, so that his Hon'" may 




SHIRLEY DININC-Ri 



have great Choice and I hope we shall have no Occasion to 
!be troublesome anymore." And in a third letter Colonel 

Conway says: "Surely the .Secretary may find a friend in 
(Lancaster as worthy as M'" Carter; if not in Lancaster, he 
jmay in X'irg'^ — we think none will do no Less Justice." On 
'the other hand. Philip .Smith, jun', writes from Northumber- 
(land County to the Hon. John Carter. Secretary of \^irginia, 
I in behalf of Joseph Carter, Mr. Ball, and Mr. Brent, the 



ifi 



242 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



inspectors of tobacco in that district. He thinks them all 
*'very honest men. and as far as I see ver}- careful in their 1 
office not to pass any tobacco but what was good, and in my | 
opinion have done equal Justice to all," Secretary Carter 
had been appointed to the Council in 1724. 

A number of letters are extant written by the brothers 
John, Charles, and Landon Carter between the years 1732 
and I 738. They are to law 
don. Robert Carter died 
before his father. See- 
up the estate, and 
of the young- chil 
brother, 
m a n )• pa- 
s e r \- e d 
to be found 
accounts of 
ter, Jr. : "August 
for my wedding- 
And then, side by side 
script preserving the rec 
bill of his brother- 




yers and merchants in Lon- 

in 1 731, a few months 

retary Carter settled 

managed the affairs 

d r e n of his 

'^ A m o n g the 

p e r s pre- 

^ - there are 

some of the 

Robert Car- 

2, 1727 — To paid 

clothes, /.1 4, 10." 

with the yellow manu- 

ord of his marriaee, is the 

in-law and family phy- 



sician. Dr. George "^ll arms, shirlkv. Nicholas, for "medi- 
cines and drugs delivered to his order from July 7th, 1726, to 
his last sickness, 1730 i." When this account is settled a 
cask of wine offsets the doctor's drugs and attendance and 
his expenses "to Potomack," in addition to the cash payment. 
A rather faintly-defined personality among the brothers is 
this second son of " King Carter." He. had gone over to 
Middlesex County to find his bride in Priscilla, daughter of 
Colonel William Churchill, and a little son and daughter were 
born to him, Robert and Elizabeth. The brief record closes 
three years later, and the clergyman of the parish is called 



THE CARTERS OF MRGINIA. 243 

on to preach the funeral sermon. It has come down to us 
addressed and endorsed as follows : 

"To Madam Priscilla Carter: A copy of a Funeral 
Sermon occasioned by the much-to-be-lamented Death of 
Robert Carter, Jun'"- esq :, preached at his late dwelling- 
house on Tuesday the i6th day of May in the year 

We can see in imagination the "great assembly" collected 

at " Nomini Hall" as the clergyman gives out his text, "For 

me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." And he judiciously 

combines praise of the dead with exhortation to the living. 

] "Few," he says, ''have been attended with more sad hearts 

^ to their graves than he (the beloved of all that had the hap- 

\ piness to be acquainted with him) that is now to be carried 

; thither Not to tell you that he was descended of an 

' honorable family (tho' that be a thing not contemptible), this 
his just funeral exequies declare better than I can. In his 
! minority he had (as I am well informed, and have all the 
I reason in the world to believe) the advantage and blessing 
I of a virtuous education, which early tincture left that relish 
which verified wise Solomon's maxim, and proves a joy to the 
\ parent." In all the relations of life, it seems, he deserved the 
[ reputation of an affable disposition, and he wa ,."a gentleman 
of that candor and courtesv as did oblige and ' /in the affection 
of all." And the paper continues: "Let me now, if you 
please, address myself to you, most mournful madam, his 
most loving, most amiable consort ; to you, most honored sir, 
his most indulgent and tender father ; to you, gentlemen, his 
most loving brothers ; and to you, the resf of his dear rela- 
tions." The sermon closes with comforting words to the 
widow, commending her and her "dearly beloved pretty 
Babes" to the Almighty protection.,' 

The portraits of Robert Carter aid Madam Priscilla por- 



244 THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



tray him in white curled wig, with a dark coat and brass 
buttons, and open white shirt-front ; while she wears a white, 
square-neck gown with an over-jacket of blue, her dark hair 
matching her dark eyes and contrasting with her husband's 
blond wig. (See Part II. of this article.) 

John and Charles Carter correspond with their London 
merchant, Edward Atthawes, in relation to the " Nomini " 
estate, sending him shipments ol tobacco and receiving in 
return articles needed for the plantation or for the two 
children and their mother. Mr. Atthawes writes with the 
frankness of a trusted friend, January 12th, 1735: " Tis 
strange to me that about 100 workingr negroes on fine land 
should not raise a greater quantity of tobacco in a year not 
remarkable for bad seasons or short crops ;" and he intimates 
the necessity of a "more industrious management to free the 
estate from its present encumbrance. If it be not done in 
the minority of the young Gentleman, he will find it a very 
uneasy weight hereafter. The young Gentleman's Clothes," 
he adds, "were made by M'" Guest. I hope no offense will 
be given by the lace put on them, since 'tis done with no 
other intent but to please the good Lady whom you seem so 
willing to oblige. I shall pay ]\L" Pearse for Miss Betty's 
Coats as soor as I know what they come to." 

Madam Priscilla Carter recovered within a reasonable 
time from her affliction at the loss of her husband, and 
married Colonel John Lewis of "Warner Hall," becoming 
his second wife. So in June, 1736, there is a memorandum 
received from Colonel Lewis, where the children now are, 
" of things to be sent for Master Roby and Miss Betty 
Carter." 

Secretary Carter in these years seems to have passed his 
time between Williamsburg, " Corotoman," and " Shirley." 
We find letters written to him at the latter place in 1737, and 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



245 



a letter of his to his brother, Landon Carter, dated from 
"Shirley" in 1739, has been published by Mr. Moncure D. 
Conway in his Bai'cms of the Potouiac and of the Rappahan- 




MISS KLIZABETH HILL, DAUGHTER OF EDWARD HILL OK SH KLEY, AND WIFE OF 
JOHN CARTER OF COROTOMAN. 

nock. In this letter John Carter speaks of his journey to 
" Corotoman " being stopped by the sickness of his wife and 
family. 



/ 



246 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



Mr. Conway seems to regard the fact that Secretary 
Carter suppHes his brother with slaves from the ships that 
were then brin^incr them to Virorinia from the coast of Africa 

00 o 




SHIRLEY, LOWER LL\LL FROM DINING-ROOM DOOR. 



as a slur upon his character, apparently forgetting that public 
opinion made this appear quite an innocent and laudable 
species of traffic in the Colonies even up to a short period 
before the Revolution. The old newspapers of Virginia and 
Maryland give abundant evidence of this in the advertise- 
ments put in them by the foremost gentlemen in these 
Provinces offering slaves for sale on their premises, most of 
them living on rhe navigable rivers, ocean, or bay. And 
Colonel Carter was not in advance of his time in this 
respect. 

Like most of the gentlemen with whom thev associ- 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



247 



ated, the Carters were interested in the fashionable amuse- 
ment of racing. To some forgotten triumphs of the turf in 
1739, John Carter alludes in his letter to Landon, and there 
would appear to have been some little controversy on the 
subject between the two brothers. The Secretary writes : 




SHIRLEY, SOUTH FRONT. 

"Trinculo won the second race near a length with Sam on 
his back, and I shall give you credit for the half of fifteen 
Pistoles and the half of 2 hdds. Tobacco, tho' I called no 
Witnesses to my Intentions. On the first Race the loss was 
20 Pistoles and 4 hdds. Tobacco, and 5 Pistoles on Criswell's 
Mare against Randolph's Mare, half of which I charge to your 
account ; and this shall be the last of the sort." At the Fair 
in Williamsburg the following- December, Colonel Criswell 



248 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



was more successful, his horse Edo-comb comino; in first at 
the first race, winning- the highest prize, which was a saddle 
of forty shillings' value. 

Secretary Carter died of dropsy the 31st of July. 1742. 
His illness is noticed in contemporary letters of Colonel Ic^hn 
Lewis and William Heverley of " Blandfield." "The poor 




SIUKI 1 V I'KAWlNU-Ki'OM, LOOKING TOWAKli 1 



K AN1> ClOOK. 



Secretary is near his death with a dropsy," wrote Colonel 
Lewis to Lawrence Washington on the 2Sth of June. Bev- 
erley had written as early as March, 1742, that the Secretary 
would probably die before his letter reached its destination 
in England, and he wished his correspondent, a London 
merchant, to buy the place of Secretary for him ; Carter had 
given 1500 guineas for it, he adds, but he was willing to pay 
^2000 and more to secure the commission. He wished also to 
succeed, in good time, to Carter's vacant seat in the Council. 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



249 



Secretary Carter seems to have been a man of integrity 
and ability, managing large domestic affairs with prudence 




CHAR1.KS CARTER OK SHIRLEY.. 



and skill, and filling ably high political offices. His portrait, 

painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, hangs on the walls at 

I "Shirley," and represents him in velvet coat ornamented 

with silver lace and buttons — a handsome, courtly figure, 



250 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



wearing the large flowing wig of the period. The picture 
of his wife, EHzabeth Hill, is also at "Shirley." 

In the letter of Colonel Lewis above quoted, which is full 
of interesting social gossip, he says : " M'" Wormeley and 
Colo. Charles Carter has lost their Ladvs." Charles Carter 




CLEVE, KIN 



of " Cleve " had married, in 1728, Mary Walker, and this is 
the lady whose death occurred in 1742, about the time of 
that of her brother-in-law, Secretary Carter. But Colonel 
Charles promptly consoled himself for this bereavement. 
William Beverley, writing the news of the neighborhood to 
Lord Fairfax, then in England, under date of July 27, 1743, 
announces the recent weddings : " I doubt not but Colo. 
Fairfax has informed your Lordship of Miss Nancy Fairfax's 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 251 

being married to M"" Adjutant Washington [Lawrence Wash- 
ington of " Mount Vernon "], Colo. Charles Carter and Colo. 
Landon Carter to the two Miss Byrds." Anne and Maria 




ANNE (Brri.KK) MOORE, WIFE OF CHARLES CARTER OF SHIKLEV. 

Byrd were daughters of Colonel William Byrd of " West- 
over." The i)ortraits of Anne and Maria Byrd at the ages 
of nine and seven were painted by Bridges — "Nancy" with 



252 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



her hand resting on a dog, and the little Maria in a loose 
blue gown. Anne Byrd's portrait was painted later by 
Hesselius, with that of her husband, Charles Carter, and two 
of her children. 

In the survey of Lord Fairfax's patent in the Northern 
Neck, of which Colonel Byrd speaks, and of which he wrote 




DOVE-COTE IN THE FIELDS, SHIRLEY 



a "Narrative" in 1736, Colonel Charles Carter, with William 
Fairfax and William Beverley, were the three commissioners 
appointed by Lord Fairfax to look after his interests as ao-ainst 
the commissioners appointed by the king. Charles Carter 
was a member of the House of Burgesses in 1736, and also 
in 1747-64. representing King George County. 

Anne Byrd Carter died in 1757, and Colonel Carter 
married a third time in 1763. On this last occasion the wife 
survived, to take in her turn a second spouse, Charles 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 253 

Carter dying in 1764. His portrait, a copy of the original 
still hanging at " Cleve," though the place is no longer owned 
by his descendants, represents him in scarlet coat with a pro- 
fusion of gilt buttons, and wearing a wig of the age of 
George the First. " Cleve " is a beautiful old estate on the 
Rappahannock River, in King George County, where the 
steamboat still comes to the wharf as did the sailing vessels 
and rowboats of the earlier days. The old mansion, said to 
have been erected in 1720, was subsequently destroyed by 
fire. But if this was the conflagration which injured or razed 
to the ground a Carter place on the Rappahannock in 1729, 
then there was still a later calamity of the sort at " Cleve " 
if, as we have been informed, the present handsome house 
was built in 1800 on the walls of the old Colonial dwelling. 
The illustration of " Cleve " given in this article is taken from 
the river-front, but does not include the west wing of the 
mansion, which, if seen, would show the house to be at least 
a third larger than it appears. 

Colonel Landon Carter of "Sabine Hall" also married 
three times, Maria Byrd being his second wife. He had 
married Elizabeth Wormeley of " Rosegill " in 1732. A 
letter to him of 1742, by Col. William Byrd, we cannot but 
think contains some veiled and ironic allusion to Carter's 
love-suit for the young lady at "Westover." Colonel Byrd 
says: "Sir, the letter you was so good as to send me this 
morning I read with some surprise, believing that the Fever 
which was lately so strong upon you was not quite gone off. 
Nor was I altogether mistaken ; it seems, because I perceive 
the Distemper continues, only you apply to a new Physician. 
Now, Sir, I think it a great Pity that an honest Gentleman 
of so much worth and honor should be suffered to languish 
under this Disorder any longer, and therefore I shall agree 
to contribute all I can to his Recovery. I can foresee no 



234 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



more than one Obstruction to a complete cure, which is that 
he hath Three or Four Wens orowinof to his side, which are 
hke to draw all the Nourishment from the other Parts. How- 
ever between this and Sunday, perhaps some method can be 
thought of to encounter that formidable symptomi." 




A member of the House of Burgesses from 174S to 1764. 
Landon Carter took a prominent part in its councils, always 
upholding the rights of the Colonists in any contest with those 
who would stretch the ro\al prerogative. Two years before, 
in 1756. Landon Carter had written : " \'irginia has been 
neglected by the Mother Coilntr}-. Had there been a more 
active king on the throne of France she would have made a 
conquest of it long ago. If we talk of obliging men to serve 




COLONEL LANDOX CARTER. 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 257 

their country, we are sure to hear a fellow mumble over the 
words ' liberty ' and ' property ' a thousand times. I have 
endeavored, though not in the field yet in the Senate, as 
much as possible to convince the country of danger, and she 
knows it ; but such is her parsimony, that she is willing to 
wait for the rains to wet the powder and rats to eat the bow- 
strings of the enemy, rather than attempt to drive them from 
her frontiers." 

Colonel Landon Carter built "Sabine Hall" in 1730, 
probably from his classical tastes naming it after Horace's 
villa ; and it remains to-day one of the finest of the old 
colonial houses of Virginia, with its high ceilings, spacious 
rooms, and great wide halls ; its walls adorned with family 
portraits, one of them a very handsome likeness of " King 
Carter," and also one of Judith Armistead. There are 
pictures also of Col. Landon Carter and the three ladies 
who successively bore his name. The estate, consisting 
ot some four thousand acres, is on the Rappahannock 
in Lunenburg Parish, Richmond County. Three miles 
above "Sabine Hall" is " Mount Airy," the home, in Landon 
Carter's day, of Col. John Tayloe, and still owned by his 
descendants. Another near neighbor of Col. Carter's was 
Francis Lightfoot Lee, son-in-law of Col. Tayloe, who lived 
at " Menokin," not far beyond " Mount Airy." And across 
the peninsula on the Potomac, a distance of ten miles, was 
" Nomini Hall" and the Lee places, "Stratford" and " Chan- 
tilly." The church which was attended by the families at 
"Menokin," "Mount Airy," and "Sabine Hall" was erected 
in 1737. Colonel Landon Carter, of course, was an important 
member of the vestry, and vestries were a power in the com- 
munity in despite of the Bishop of London and the commis- 
sary of Virginia. The story is told of Landon Carter, that 
uniting with some of his neighbors in opposing a certain 



258 THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



clergyman that the commissary had provided for the parish 
between 1740 and 1750, he locked him out of the church, 
and the luckless pastor was forced to preach for some time in 
the churchyard to the portion of the flock who advocated his 
cause. Here, in Lunenburg Parish, officiated somewhat later 
the Rev. Isaac Giberne, who by his accomplishments and 
social qualities rendered himself entirely acceptable to the 
influential families around him ; marrying, too, the daughter 
of one of his parishioners. 

Colonel Landon Carter was on terms of more or less inti- 
macy with most of the prominent men of his day in Virginia. 
A high-minded public servant and a finished scholar, indulg- 
\n<y a taste for science and a love of letters, Landon Car- 
ter's reputation has come down to us, marking him one 
of the most notable of the pre-Revolutionary statesmen 
in the Colony. He was living in 1776, "at Sabine Hall, 
retired from public praise," enjoying the otimn nun dig- 
nitatc which came so much earlier to men of affairs in the 
less hurried years of the eighteenth century than it does 
in our feverish age, and looked up to by the younger gene- 
ration as a Nestor among his compatriots. Some of his cor- 
respondence at this period, with Washington and the Lees, 
has been preserved ; these letters to him attesting the esti- 
mation in which he was held for his wisdom, talents, and 
integrity, while his own epistles prove him worthy of the 
regard and veneration which were given him. 

At "Sabine Hall," a daughter of the house was married 
in 1775, and Colonel Lee and his wife sent their good wishes: 
"We have no doubt of Miss Lucy's happiness in the married 
state, as so much depends on herself and knowing the worth 
of Mr. Colston ;" and the letter adds : "we are in possession 
of Miss Betsy's musick, which shall be sent by the first oppor- 
tunity," " Miss Betsy " being Colonel Carter's young grand- 




MRS. LANDON CARTER. 



26o THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



daughter, and die "musick" no doubt was to be played upon ! 
the spinet or piano-forte imported from the mother country. * 
But with music and merrymaking, the game ol whist at which 
smah stakes were put up, and where the parson scrupled not 
to take a hand, and the bowl of brandy toddy, there were 
anxious discussions at times over the news from the far-oft 
batdetields. In the month of February, 1777, a letter had 
arrived from Colonel Lee, and was forthwith despatched to 
" Mount Airy," Colonel Carter writing on the back of it, as 
follows : 

"You must make allowances for Col. F. Lee's nerves as 
well as mine. I hope our Dear General is in a better situ- 
ation than is represented. For it must be impossible to con- 
ceal from the enemy by all the parade of marching, and they 
must have attacked him before the date of any news trom the 
camp had \V. been in so distressed [a condition] as to num- 
bers." The note concludes: "Can't you trifle an hour to 
dine or drink tea? Giberne is gone with the Captain to 
Beverley's." Colonel Tayloe replies in returning the epistle: 
"It is one o'clock and horses out, besides Dr. Ball is here 
unwell, his lady, and B. Carter. We intend to visit R. H. 
Lee as soon as it is tit to travel so far. Any commands shall 
be executed by 

Yours affectionately, 

I. T." 



Shirley on the James River, 

Virginia. 



PART II. 

The most celebrated of the grandsons of "King Carter" 
was Robert of Nomini, usually known as Councillor Carter. 
Very voluminous letter- and account-books afford a view of 
his life. We see him in 1736 a fatherless child of ten in the 
quaint dress of the period ordered for him from London, one 
suit made of fine brown holland, with lace hat, white gloves, 
and red worsted stockings ; his sister Betty, who is two years 
older, in gown "of fine sprig'd callico," Spanish leather shoes 
or red morocco, and wearing a mask to preserve her com- 
plexion. Two small Bibles are ordered from England at this 
time, along with cambric, ribbons, and edgings, German serge 
and brown holland, for "Miss Betty" and "Master Roby." 
Tobacco goes out across the water direct from the Nomini 
estate to pay the bills. 

In 1737, Robert Carter went to school at William and 
Mary College, and the charge for board for himself and his 
negro servant from July 16, 1737. to March 25, 1738, is ten 
pounds eleven shillings and tenpence, as the original receipt 
of one of the masters of the college, John Graeme, duly sets 
forth. At this time Master Robert, now twelve years old, is 
more elegandy attired, receiving from England at Christmas, 
a suit of clothes of German serge lined with pink shalloon, 
with silver lace, buttons, and loop. Betty, who is almost 
grown at fourteen, receives a quilt cap, a blue-and-white 
lutestring coat, and silk-heeled shoes laced with long loops. 
The list of articles received at "Corotoman," June 30, 1739, 
for Robert and Elizabeth Carter, then living with their mother 

2r,i 



262 THE CARTERS OF VIRGIXIA. 

and stepfather at '"Warner Hall." shows us the little lady in 
cap. ruffles, and tucker, with fan. necklace, girdle, and buckle, 
hoop coat, "mantua." and coat of " slite lutestring." and still 
wearing the beauty-preserving mask. The young college gen- 
tleman has pumps, "worked hose," and shoebuckles. Three 
years later, at seventeen. Betty Carter married Francis Willis 
of Gloucester, and her portrait, in scarlet satin gown and 
mantle, adorns the home of one of her brother's descendants. 

Robert Carter in 1749 went to England. He has put 
down in his note-book that he "embarked on board the ship 
Evcrtoii, Captain James Kelly, then in York River, bound to 
Liverpool." It seems that he had for his companion on this 
voyage Major Lawrence Washington. In London he sat for 
his portrait to Sir Joshua Reynolds. The fancy costume in 
which he is taken as he stands at full length, with \'andyke 
collar and domino thrown back, holding a mask in his hand, 
sueeests the crav ball and rout, with their statelv minuets, in 
which he must have been a frequent participant. As his own 
memorandum makes mention, he "arrived in \ irginia June. 
I 75 1," and his courtship of the fair Maryland girl who became 
his wife probably commenced soon after. The Maryland 
Gazette for Thursday. April 4. 1754. announces: "On Teus- 
day last M' Robert Carter of Westrnpreland in Mrginia was 
married by the Rev. M"" Malcolm to Miss Frances Tasker. 
youngest daughter of the Hon. Benjamin Tasker. Esq.. a tine 
young lady with a genteel fortune." Her portrait was painted 
probably soon after her marriage. She is taken life-size, in a 
rich gown of white satin, a blue scarf thrown over the right 
arm. falling in front of the dress and caught up in her left 
hand, and a brooch of pearls her only ornament. 

His duties as councillor brought Robert Carter to Wil- 
liamsburg necessarily for a part of the year, and in 1761 he 
moved with his familv from " Xomini Hall" to the little \'ir- 




ROF.KRT CARTER OK NO.MINI — THE COUNCILLOR. 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 265 

ginia capital, where he took up his permanent abode for a 
period of eleven years. Here, in his house on Palace Street, 




FRANCES ANN TASKER, WIFE OF ROBERT CARTER. 

he was a neighbor of George Wythe, of John Tazewell and 
of Peyton Randolph, who became his warm friends. He was 
intimate, as John Page tells us. with "our highly enlightened 
Governor Fauquier, and M*"- William Small, the professor of 



266 THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 

mathematics at the College of William and Mary, from whom 
he derived great advantages." In 1762 he accompanied Gov- 
ernor Fauquier on a visit to New York, and the following 
year he went with him to " Charles Town," as he tells us in 
his note-book. Writing to Governor Bladen in 1761, Coun- 
cillor Carter says : "I have lately exchanged my country- 
house for one in the city. I should rather say (to a resident 
in England) my desert for a well-inhabited country. This 
remove obliges me totally to decline the fashionable amuse- 
ment, and at present I can't commend one thing qualified for 
the turf" As early as 1752, on his return from England, 
Robert Carter's accounts show his interest in racing. He 
had bet with Warner Le\vis, his mother's stepson, on the cele- 
brated race run December 5th of this year at Gloucester 
Court-house, when Col. William Byrd had issued a challenge 
to run his chestnut horse Tryal for 500 pistoles against any 
gentleman's horse or mare bold enough to encounter him. 
The race was won by Sclinia, the famous mare belonging to 
Col. Benjamin Tasker, jr., and Warner Lewis, betting on 
Tryal, lost 50 guineas to Robert Carter. 

We know from the invoices sent to London very much 
how the councillor's residence "in the city" was furnished. 
The first parlor was bright with crimson-colored paper ; the 
second had hangings ornamented by large green leaves on a 
white ground ; and the third, the best parlor, was decorated 
with a finer grade of paper, the ground blue with large yellow 
flowers. A mirror four feet by six and a half, "the glass to 
be in many pieces, agreeable to the present fashion," was 
ordered for one of these rooms, and there were marble 
hearth-slabs, wroucrht-brass sconces and o-lass o;lobes for can- 
dies with which to light the staircase, with Wilton carpeting 
and other luxuries. Every year the councillor added books 
to his library, and he was constantly sending over for silver 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



267 



plate. All of this silver was marked with the Carter crest, 
as thus described in several of these orders : " On a wreath,, 
a Talbot sejeant, resting his dexter paw upon an Escutcheon 
containing- therein a Catherine wheel black." 

The councillor, while he was busy reading history, phil- 
osophy, theology, and jurisprudence, was also studying music. 




CARTER SILVER, NOW AT SHIRLEY. 



and, in turn, playing on the violin, harpsichord, flute, piano, 
and organ. He sent to London to have an organ made after 
certain directions furnished by Peter Pelham, Williamsburg's 
chief musician. He also bouo-ht one of the wonderful new 
instruments invented by " Mr. B. Franklin of Philadelphia," 
which he describes as "an Armonica (as played on by Miss 
Davies at the great room in Spring Garden), being the musi- 
cal glasses without water, framed into a complete instrument, 
capable of thorough bass and never out of tune." 

In winter the councillor's wife was provided with a green 



268 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



sarcenet quilted coat, and green silk bonnet trimmed with 
brown lace, with black velvet shoes, white lamb g-loves, and 




Ki>i:iKT CARTER, FATHER OF THE COUNCILLOR. 



colored mittens — no doubt to the taste of the day presenting 
a most elegant appearance as she stepped in and out of her 
chariot or chair on her way to the church or to the palace. 
In May, 1772, Councillor Carter returned with his house- 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



269 



hold to " Nomini Hall," Of this move he writes in one of his 
note-books, connecting it significantly with the "new system 





1^1^ j^^H 


I 






1 


^^^^^^^^HH 


, •'w/''^ a^^^ 


H 




fallal ' *!«# "al 


^H 


^^V^^^^^^^^^^7»^gS|fi| 




H 


^^^^^^Kf^ ^ ■■■!!'''' J'^^^^l 




^ 



I'RISCII.LA CHURCHILI., MOTHER OF THE COUNCILLOR. 

of politicks in British North America," which, he says, " began 
to prevail generally" in the first part of this year. Williams- 
burg was evidently losing some of its charms. He returned 
to plantation-life doubtless with new zest. With his lands 



2/0 THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 

extending along the shores of both the Potomac and Rappa- 
hannock rivers, from Westmoreland and Richmond counties 
up to Loudon and Prince William, he had indeed a mag- 
nificent domain over whicli to exercise his jurisdiction ; and 
he had the care also of three hundred and fifty slaves. Rais- 
ing quantities of tobacco, corn, and wheat, he shipped them 
from his own landing-places to London, Liverpool, *Edin- 
burgh, and Glasgow, his mercantile correspondence also 
embracing at one time Leghorn in Italy and the island of 
Madeira. He built and owned ships and mills, manufacturing 
ship-biscuit with which to supply schooners. He had a mill 
and bakery on the Nomini River. Through his marriage he 
obtained an interest in the Baltimore or Patapsco Iron W^orks 
in Maryland, exporting in considerable quantities both bar 
and pig iron. A justice of the peace, vestryman, and church- 
warden, he was one of the rulers of the parish. 

Robert Carter's name first appears on the vestry-book of 
Cople Parish in 1755. This parish, which was in Westmore- 
land County, had its two churches : Yeocomico Church on the 
river of that name, and nine or ten miles to the south of it ; 
Nomini Church on Nomini Bay. 

The "Nomini Hall" establishment embraced among the 
whites, besides the family, a "dark," a housekeeper, a smith, 
a stocking-loom maker, a cabinetmaker, a "gardner," a 
cooper, and a carpenter. These are, some of them, put down 
as "servants for four years." Among the "black males" 
were four millers, two blacksmiths, a collier, two hardeners, 
three shoemakers, two cooks, a herdsman, a butcher, a tailor, 
four who form the "bake house gang" (one of whom, 
"Sam," belonged to Col. Warner Lewis), two w^oodcutters, 
two postilions, ten carpenters, two cartmen for the carpenters, 
three coopers, a cabinetmaker, and eight sailors. In all, there 
are sixty-two male slaves, including children from three years 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 27 1 



old up, who are named. The negro women and children 
numbered twenty-seven. The postilions were needed for 
the chariot and four that carried the councillor's family to 
church and to the houses of the neighboring gentry; the 
sailors were to man the boats that were always in use also 
for visiting purposes with these dwellers on the river-shores. 
At one time Robert Carter ordered from England a "strong, 
fashionable travelling post coach," lined with blue morocco, 
without gilt, "but neatly painted and varnished." He had 
also a chariot with six wheels, and a "riding chair" equally 
well provided with the means of locomotion. And the coach- 
men and postilions wore liveries of blue broadcloth, with 
brass buttons, while the blue hammer-cloth for the chariot 
box was "trimmed with the mixed livery." (While he im- 
ported so much from England, the Colonial planter was pro- 
vided with his own white and negro craftsmen, as we see, 
and was in a great measure independent of the town. We 
find Robert Carter in 1775 making arrangements for both a 
spinning-house and stocking manufactory. Colonel Carter 
established salt-works, somewhat later, on one of his plan- 
tations, the salt to be made by evaporation, "the intended 
work for the use of my family, and not a public matter," he 
wTites to a merchant in Alexandria. I 

Councillor Carter's letter-books during the Revolution are 
full of interesting incidents and memoranda. In 1776, Carter 
writes thus of the appearance of the British fleet in the Poto- 
mac, and of his address to his slaves, who by Lord Dun- 
more's proclamation were enticed to leave their masters : 

"Friday, 12th July, 1776: His Majesty's ship the Roe-buck 
and about 60 sail arrived in Potomack River ; this fleet came 
to between the mouth of Yeocomico River and Saint Mary's 
River. Saturday, ye 13th of the same month, I, R. C, went 
to my Plantation, commonly called Cole's Point, situate upon 



2/2 THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 

Potomack River about nine miles above Yeocomico River, and 
directed Matthew Leonard, overseer, to collect together most 
of my slaves under him, to whom I made a speech, and I 
observed therein that — the Kinof of Great Britain had declared 
war against the people of the Colony of X'irginia, New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island. Connecticut, New 
York. New Jersey, Pennsylvania. New Castle, Maryland, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia ; that Lord 
Dunmore had the command of the King's Army and Fleet in 
Virginia : that part of the said Fleet, consisting of about 60 
sail, was now to be seen from Ragged Point ; that many of 
the people in Great Britain disapproved of the present dis- 
pute between them and the 13 United Colonies in North 
America, and had refused to enlist as soldiers ; — therefore 
the King of G. B. had employed foreign soldiers to fight for 
him against us ; that Lord Dunmore had called upon the 
black People in North America to join him, and he has 
declared that all white indented servants and slaves who may 
run away from their masters and enter into the King's ser- 
vice shall be free ; that their masters should have no further 
claim whatever against them. Question : If the King should 
be victorious in the present war, had Lord Dunmore honesty 
to perform that part of his Declaration respecting the Slaves, 
but will he not sell them to white people living in the West 
Indies who are now friends and subjects of G. B. ? 

" I further say that since the publication ot Lord D.'s 
Declaration relative to Slaves and Servants, that numbers of 
both sorts have joined him. — Titles, appellations of dignity, 
given to some white people in Great Britain and elsewhere, 
the origin thereof explained. Question put to the black 
People : Do any of ye dislike your present condition of life, 
or do wish to enter into Lord D.'s service and trust to the 
consequences ? Answer of the black People : ' \Ve do not 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 273 

wish to enter into Lord D.'s service to fight against ye white 
People of the 13 United Provinces, but we all fully intend to 




MRS. COL. WILLI.S, DAUGHTER OF THE COUNCILLOR. 

serve you our Master, and we do now promise to use our 
whole might and force to execute your commands,' — The 
only order I shall now mention, is that if any of Lord Dun- 
more's party of men should land in Cole's Point tract of land, 

18 



274 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



that ye black men take your wives, children, male and female 
acquaintances, clothes, bedding, and tools, removing all into 




MRS. KENNOX, DAUGHTER OF MRS. WILMS. 



private places away from the rivers Potomack and Machotoc, 
and send a person off to Nomony Hall immediately to advise 
me at what place ye are gotten too. and I will then give direc- 
tions tending for your immediate relief 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 2/5 



" M*"- Leonard, attend to the grrowing- crop at Cole's Point 
Plantation as usual, keep a constant look out, and if Lord D.'s 
fleet should move upward advise me thereof. If any of the 
said party of men should land here and demand Provisions, 
do not refuse, but u^hatever Provisions that may be taken by 
them, refuse money or any other consideration, if any may be 
offered for Provisions." 

Some of the Continental forces were in Westmoreland at 
this time on the lookout for Lord Dunmore, and Colonel 
Carter writes on the 31st of July, 1776: " I dined at Head- 
quarters at Col. Weedon's Tent, also Col. R. H. Lee, Col, 
J. A. Washington, the Rev. M'"- Thos. Smith, Col. Thomas 
Lee of Stafford County, and several Ladies of Westmoreland 
County, and Gentlemen. In the afternoon of the same day 
myself and part of the company mentioned above went on 
board the Gondola called the Protector, lying near Horn 
Point, 59 feet keel, 22 oars ; there was one other Gondola 
lying alongside of the same dimensions. Boucher, the Com- 
modore, was on board the Protector, Capt. Pierce, captain of 
a Company of Mareens \sic'\, which Company was divided, 
part thereof on board the Protector, part on board the other 
Gondola. The Gondolas carry 5 days Provisions." 

With the achievement of independence and the return of 
peace, Colonel Carter's feelings toward "England's King" 
no doubt softened, and to one of England's subjects, his old 
friend, Francis Fauquier, he wrote in July, 1783: 'Tt is a 
pleasant reflection to think that that social commerce, lately 
forbid, betwixt the Independent States of America and Great 
Britain, is now renewed, which happy event calls loudly on all 
persons concerned therein to offer thanks and praises to the 
Almighty vSovereign of the Universe for restoring the bless- 
ings of Peace in our Countries." 

Many instances of Colonel Carter's generosity and kind- 



276 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



ness of heart may be noted in his large correspondence, 
especially in relation to the itinerant clergy, many of whom 




GtOKi.K CAKTKK OF 



were supported, and in some cases educated, by him. In the 
wide hall at " Nomini " the good but eccentric councillor, who 
was successively Churchman. Baptist, and Swedenborgian. 
would entertain wandering and impecunious "dissenting" 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



277 



ministers, assembling- congregations there to hear them 
preach. John Wesley, while in America, it is said, was a 
recipient of these hospitalities, and has made mention of Mr. 
Carter in his writings. 

Robert Carter's kindness while living in \\ illiamsbure 




to Selim. the unfortunate Algerine, is described in Bishop 
Meade's book. He emancipated, from time to time, num- 
bers of his slaves. 

In 1776, Colonel Carter writes of himself as paying to 
"Lord Fairfax quit-rents for sixty-three thousand and ninet}-- 
three acres of land situate in his Lordship's territory, called 
the Northern Neck, which territor)- contains all my land within 
the Commonwealth of X'iroinia." Fifteen thousand six hun- 



278 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



dred and sixty acres of this land were in the counties of West- 
moreland and Richmond. The '' Nomini Hall" estate is said 




MRS. GEORGE CARTER OF OATLANDS. 



to have consisted of two thousand five hundred acres. The 
old dwelling-house was built in 1732, and is described as "a 
palatial mansion, an immense square edifice of brick, with 
roof sloping from the centre to the four sides, and having 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 279 

within high-pitched rooms with wainscoted walls, and a great 
hall after the custom of the better class of old Colonial 
houses, and beneath all subterranean chambers, passages, 
wine-cellars, and vaults, after the fashion of an ancient feudal 
castle." There were several outbuildings or offices, two of 
them from thirty to fort)' feet long and two stories high. 
These were all destroyed by fire many years ago. 

The present " Nomini Hall" is owned and inhabited by 
descendants of one of Councillor Carter's daughters. His 
only son, who married, was George Carter, the youngest but 
two of his seventeen children, who erected the beautiful 
" Oatlands " house on his inherited estate in Loudon County, 
and where Jiis son, of the same name, now resides. 

Other grandsons of " Kinof Carter," who illustrated the 
family annals by honorable records, were Robert Wormeley 
Carter of "Sabine Hall," who was one of the signers of the 
Westmoreland Resolutions of 1766, and sat in the Virginia 
House of Burgesses or Assembly in 1775 and 1776, and was 
in the convention of 1787; Charles Carter of "Ludlow" in 
Stafford County, son of Charles Carter of " Cleve," who was 
in Virginia's legislative halls from 1756 to 1784, and a mem- 
ber of the Council in 1789; and Charles and Edward, the 
two sons of Secretary John Carter. 

Charles Carter of " Shirley," the eldest son of the Secretary, 
was born in 1 732, and moved from " Corotoman " to " Shirley." 
Letters of his are preserved written from "Corotoman " to mer- 
chants in London, between the years 1756 and 1768. With his 
brother, P^dward of "Blenheim," Charles of "Corotoman" was 
a student at William and Mary College in 1752, and Charles 
Carter was a Visitor there in 1758 and 1764. He was a 
Burgess from Lancaster County in 1758-75, and a member 
of the Virginia conventions of the Revolutionary period, as 
also of the first State Council in 1776. Charles Carter was 



28o THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



devoid of the eccentricity of his cousin, the councillor, though 
he seems to have been equally pious and liberal of his 
means. He was an earnest and steady adherent of the 
religion in which he had been reared, and was a mem- 
ber of the first convention of the Episcopal Church which 
met in Virginia after its separation from the English Estab- 
lishment. An instance of his generosity has been related in 
his providing for the wife of his old pastor, the Rev. David 
Currie of Lancaster County, in the event of her widowhood, 
by a legacy of five hundred acres of land. And it is recorded 
also that in a year of great scarcity in the crops he sent a 
load of corn down the James River to be disposed of at a 
low price to the poorer class of people along the river banks. 
Charles Carter was a man of fine business qualities, it has 
been said, and in addition to his respectable inheritance he 
accumulated much property. At his death, in 1806, he was 
possessed of thirty-five thousand acres of good farming land 
in the counties of Charles City, Fauquier, Hanover, Henrico, 
King William, Lancaster, Loudon, Prince William, Richmond, 
and Westmoreland, besides /i 2,000 in money, bonds, and 
securities. He was a friend and correspondent of Washing- 
ton, and like him was much interested in promoting agri- 
culture. His obituary, probably written by one of his family, 
makes no mention of his public services, but says : 

" His long life was spent in the tranquillity of domestic 
enjoyments. From the mansion of hospitality his immense 
wealth flowed like silent streams, enlivening and refreshing 
everv object around. In fulfilling the duties of his station he 
proved himself to be an Israelite indeed — in whom there was 
no guile." 

Twice married — first to his cousin, Mary Carter of " Cleve," 
w^ho died in 1770 at " Corotoman," and was buried at Christ 
Church, and secondly, to Ann Buder Moore, a granddaughter 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



281 



of Governor Spotswood — Charles Carter was the father of 
twenty-three children. Elizabeth, a daughter of the first 
marriage, Mrs. Robert Randolph of "Eastern View," was 
the grandmother of the Rt. Rev. Alfred McGill Randolph, 
now Bishop of Virginia. A daughter of Charles Carter and 
Ann Butler Moore became the mother of General Robert 




SHIRLEY DRAWING-ROOM, ,sH(i\VlN(; I'liRTKAIT.- 



Edward Lee, the distinguished Southern commander in the 
war between the States. "Light-horse Harry," the gallant 
cavalry officer of the American Revolution, was, in 1793, con- 
templating entering the Revolutionary army of France. But 
he was at this same time a suitor for the hand of Anne Carter 
of "Shirley," and her parents decidedly opposed the project. 
So in order to secure his bride he gave up his dreams of the 
glory to be acquired on European battle-fields, and contented 



282 THE CARTERS OE IIRG/NIA. 



himself with the civil honors Virginia was so ready to bestow 
upon him. 

The portrait of Charles Carter of "Shirley" hangs on the 
walls ot this beautiful old miansion, associated with his name 
and still owned by his descendants, in company with the other 
old canvases that hand down to us the lineaments of his 
father and orandfather and others of his race. 

What Aubury says of the Randolphs in 1779, that they 
" are so numerous that they are obliged, like the clans of 
Scotland, to be distinguished by their places of residence," 
applies equally well to the Carters and other Virginia fami- 
lies. But it is not so much because of their numbers as 
because, like their English ancestors, they lived on their 
landed estates instead of crowding into towns and cities, that 
the colonial Virginians of the ruling class are known by the 
names of their plantations. They had the English love of 
rural life, which was fostered by their circumstances in an 
agricultural and newly-settled country ; and, for the most 
part, they resorted to the town only when the sessions of 
Court, Council, or Assembly required their presence. So the 
Carters and their country-seats are legion. There was John | 
Carter of "Sudley," William Champe Carter of "Farley,"— 
Landon Carter of "Woodlands," Edward Carter of " Cleve- 
land," Charles Carter of " Mount Atlas," Carter of Carter's 
Grove, and so on, as grandsons and greatgrandsons of the 
earlier generations multiplied and the wide domains of the 
colonial magnates were divided and subdivided under the 
republican laws which forbade entails and laughed at the 
rights of primogeniture. One of these Carter places, "Red- 
lands" in Albemarle County, was built by Robert Hill Carter 
of the " Blenheim " line, and is still owned by his descendants. 
Old "Corotoman," which was sold out of the family by a 
granddaughter of Charles Carter of "Corotoman" and "Shir- 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



283 



ley," is still standing", a noble and hospitable mansion. A 
lady of the Carter blood, whose mother spent the early years 
of her married life at " Corotoman," recalls the description of 
it she receiv^ed in her youth : the narrow little passageways, 
the quaint cuddies or closets here and there about the house ; 
the flagged stone walks leading to the negro quarters ; and 




carter's grove, JAMES RIVER FRONT. 

the spacious dairy built of brick, with marble troughs, through 
which the cool spring water continually flowed. 

Of the Carter women belonging to the earlier time, one 
may note the eldest child and only daughter of Secretary 
Carter, Elizabeth Hill Carter, who married in 1748, when but 
seventeen, the third Col. William Byrd of " Westover," and 
about whose name hangs the tragic memory of her accidental 
death in 1 760. She was trying to reach the top shelf of a tail 



284 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



old press, when it fell over upon and crushed her. The mar- 
riage of Colonel Byrd within a few weeks or months to his 
second wife seems to confirm the gossip of tradition, that 
Mistress Elizabeth was jealous of the young lady her hus- 
band afterward made his bride. And so pretty Molly Wil- 
ling, whether she deserved it or not, found her name trans- 




STAIRWAY IN MAIN HALL, CARTER'S GROVE. 

posed to "Willing Molly." No doubt the five motherless 
children needed her ministrations, not to mention the for- 
lorn widower. Colonel Byrd possessed many amiable and 
engaging qualities of character, it is said, and he was a 
devoted father. He served gallandy in the war of 1756, and 
his presence of mind and personal bravery, under circum- 
stances calculated to call them forth, were shown once in his 
own family soon after his marriage to Elizabeth Carter. At 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 285 



the christening of their first child, WilHam Carter, in 1749, 
after they had all retired to rest that night, the house was dis-" 
covered to be on fire. Charles and Edward Carter, then 
youths, the eldest but seventeen, were visiting their sister, 
and were asleep on the third floor. Colonel Byrd, after first 
removing his wife and child to a safe place on the lawn, has- 




ARCH IN SECOND STORY, CARTER S GROVE. 

tened back at the risk of his own life to the rescue of the two 
boys, who would not otherwise have been able to make their 
escape. And if the young husband's early devotion waned, 
he was too much the courteous gentleman ever to treat his 
wife with neglect. Elizabeth Ryrd's picture, in a blue gown 
with square neck and elbow sleeves, and wearing on her 
head a pretty straw hat tied with ribbon at the back, hangs 



286 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGINIA. 



now in the halls of her Carter kindred at " Shirley." Judith, 

one of the daus;-hters of Charles Carter oi '" Cle\ e," became 
the wife of William Burnet Brown oi "Elsinor Green." King 
William County, who was a native of Salem. Massachusetts. 
He brought to \'irginia valuable souvenirs of the family of 
Bishop Burnet, his maternal grandfather — Gobelin tapestry- 
hangings, the gift to Bishop Burnet oi William oi Orange : an 




MANTFL AND WAINSCOTING IN lAKLOK AT CAF-TLK 5 i^;KOVE. 

inlaid bc>x. in which tlie episcopal sermons were kept ; and 
among other old portraits, a tine one of the Bishop and a 
copy of Holbein's portrait of Sir Anthony Browne. \ iscount 
Montacute. In 1758. Elizabeth Wormeley Carter, daughter 
oi Col. Landon Carter of "Sabine Hall." married into the 
Berkeley family. Carter Berkeley. M. D., the son of Xelson 
Berkelev of "Airwell" and Elizabeth Carter, built •• Edoe- 



THE CARTERS OF VIRGiyiA. 287 



wood" in Hanover County In 1790. about the same time 
that his cousin, the grandson of another Ehzabeth Carter. - 
was building "Carter Hall" in Clarke County, which still 
remains the home of the "ancient family of the Burwells." 
as thev are designated on one oi the old tombstones. 

The poet and man oi letters oi the Carter family was St. 
Leg-er Landon Carter, grandson of Charles of " Cleve." A 
graduate of Princeton in 1S05, he came back to the paternal 
acres to lead the \'irginian's leisurely life of his time — inter- 
esting himself in politics. State and Federal ; writing papers in 
the Addisonian or Washington Irving style for the Southern 
Literary Mcssoigcr : and, in the phrase of a bygone day. court- 
ing the Muses in verses gay, grave, and satirical. He has given 
u> an inimitable type of the old family servant, faithful and proud 
in all conjunctures, and jealous of the honor of the house ; 
and he has described well the broken-down country-gentle- 
man — visionar}'. amiable, and eccentric — dissipating his patri- 
mony by his inventions and experiments — pictures, doubtless, 
both of them, drawn from the life. St. Leger Landon Carter 
married his cousin. Elizabeth Lee of "Coton." and she is die 
inspiration of the volume, entitled " Xugar. by Xugator. or 
Pieces in Prose and Verse, by St. Leger L. Carter." copy- 
righted by Edward H. O. Carter, and published in Baltimore 
in '844. a book now accounted one of the rarities of American 
literature. Poetical genius was the heritage in the next gen- 
eration of a niece of St. Leger Landon Carter. Elizabeth Car- 
ter McFarland. the wife of Dr. Gustavus Brown Wallace of 
"Strawberrv Hill" in Kinof Georo-e Countv. as attested bv her 
Ad clamavi portiam, and other fugitive pieces. 

Thus the laureate wreath of the singer, the warrior's 
sword, the statesman's gown, the prelate's lawn sleeves may 
all be found amonir the descendants of the colonial " Kino," 
the Carters of \irginia. Kate Ma..on Rowland. 



A GENEALOGY OF SOME OF THE DESCENDANTS OF 
COL. JOHN CARTER OF VIRGINL\. 

Colonel John Carter married — i. Anne Glynne, and had issue: George rnd Elea- 
nor; m. — 2. Anne, daughter uf Cleve Carter, and had issue : (l) John, Vestryman uf Christ 
Church 1666, m. Elizabeth Wormeley, and had Elizabeth, m. a Lloyd. John Carter, Sr., 
m. — 3. Sarah, daughter of Gabriel Ludlow, and had: (2) Sarah, (3) Colonel Robert of 
Corotoman, called, on account of his vast possessions, " King Carter," b. 1663, Vestryman of 
Christ Church, Speaker of the House of Burgesses 1694-95, and Treasurer, Member of the 
Council 1699-1726, when being President he was Acting Governor for more than a yoar. 
He m. — I. Judith, d. 1699, eldest daughter of John Armistead of Hesse, Gloucester County; 
m. — 2. Elizabeth, widow of Willis, and youngest daughter of Thomas Landon of Gre Jna! in 
the county of Hereford, England. He had issue: by 1st marriage (l) John of Cor>itoman, 
barrister-at-law of the Middle Temple, b. about 1690; d. 30 April, 1743; m. Elizabeth, 
daughter of Col. Edward Hi.ll of Shirley, Charles City County, and eventually heiress of her 
brother, Edward Hill; (2) Elizabeth, b. 1680; d. 1721 ; m., 1st, Nathaniel Burwell of Glou- 
cester County ; 2d, Dr. G. Nicholas (she was the mother of the distinguished Robert Carter 
Nicholas); (3) Judith, m. Mann Page of Rosewell. (See Rosewell.) (4)^ Anne, m. Ben- 
jamin Harrison of Berkeley, and was mother of Benjamin Harrison, Governor of \'irgiaia 
and Signer of the Declaration of Independence ; by 2d marriage of Robert Carter (5) Robert 
of Nomini, Westmoreland County, m. Priscilla Bladen of Maryland, and d. 1732 ; (6) Sarah, 
d. unm. ; (7) Col. Charles of Cleve, King George County, b. 1707; d. 1764; Member of the 
House of Burgesses from King George 1747-64; m., 1st, Mary Walke ; 2d, Anne, daughter 
of William Byrd of Westover; 3d, Lucy Taliaferro; (8) Ludlow, d. unm.; (9) Col. Landon 
of Sabine Hall, Richmond County; Member of the House of Burgesses 1748-64; m., 1st, 
Armistead, and had no issue; 2d, Maria, daughter of Col. William Byrd of W'estover; 3d, 
Elizabeth Wormeley of Rosegill, Middlesex County; ( 10) Mary, b. 1712; d. 17 Sept., 1736; 
m. George Braxton of Newington. King and Queen Cour^^y, and was the mother of Carter 
Braxton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence; (11) Lucy, m. Henry Fitzhugh of 
Eagle's Nest, King George County; (12) George of the Middle Temple, London, d. unm. 

Issue of John and Elizabeth [Hill] Carter of Corotoman: (l) Elizabeth Hill, b. i;;i; 
d. 1760; m. Col. William Byrd of Westover; (2) Charles of Corotoman, and, after 1770, 
of Shirley, b. 1732 ; d. 1806 ; Burgess for Lancaster County 175S-75 ; Member of the Con- 
ventions and of the first State Council 1776; m., 1st, Mary W., daughter of Charles Carter 
of Cleve ; 2d, Ann Butler, daughter of Bernard Moore of Chelsea, King William County ; 
(3) Edward of Blenheim, Albemarle County; Member of the House of Delegates; m. Sarah, 
daughter of Col. John Champe of Lamb's Creek, King George County. 

Issue of Charles Carter of Shirley by first marriage, with Mary Carter: (l) John Hill, b. 
1750; d. unm.; Member of House of Delegates from Lancaster County 1780; (2) Charles, 
b. 1759 ; d. unm. ; (3) George, b. 1761 ; m. Lelia, daughter of Sir Peyton Skipwith of Prest- 
288 



GENEALOGY OF THE CARTER FAMILY. 289 

would, Mecklenburg County; she m., 2dly, Judge Saint George Tucker; (4) Mary, b. 1763; 
m. George Braxton of Hibla; (5) Elizabeth, b. 1764; d. 1832; m. Col. Robert Randolph 
of Eastern View, Fauquier County ; (6) Charles of Mount Atlas, b. 1 766 ; m. Nancy Carter 
of Sabine Hall; (7) Edward of Cloverland, b. 1767; m. Jane Carter of Sudley; (8) Lan- 
don, d. unm. ; by 2d marriage with Ann Moore: (9) Robert Hill, b. 1771 ; d. unm. ; (10) 
Anne Hill, b. 1773; d. July, 1829; m. Gen. Henry Lee of Stratford, and was mother of 
Robert E. Lee; (11) Dr. Robert, b. 1774; m. Mary, daughter of Gov. Thomas Nelson of 
Yorktown; (12) Bernard, b. 1776; d. unm. ; (13) John, b. 1777; d. unm.; (14) Kate Spots-, 
wood, b. 17S9 ; m. Dr. Carter Berkeley of Edgewood, Hanover County ; ( 15) Bernard Moore, 
b. 1780; m. a daughter of Gen. Henry Lee of Stratford by his first marriage with Lucy, 
daughter of Philip Ludwell Lee; (16) Williams of Hanover County, b. 1782; m. Charlotte, 
daughter of Dr. William Foushee of Richmond; (17) Butler, b. 1784; d. unm.; (18) Mil- 
dred, b. 1786; d. unm.; (19) Lucy, b. 1789; d. 10 Nov., 1824; m. Nathaniel Burwell 
of Dropmore, Roanoke County; (20) William Fitzhugh, b. 1791; d. 1852 unm.; (21) a 
son b. 1792; d. young; {22) a daughter b. 1794; d. young; (23) Calphurnia, b. 1796; 
d. unm. 

Issue of George and Lelia [Skipwith] Carter: (i) Dr. George of Corotoman, m. a 
daughter of Major Richard Corbin of Laneville, King and Queen County, and had : Parke, 
d. unm. ; (2) Polly, m. Dr. Joseph Cabell. 

Issue of Charles and Nancy Carter of Mount Atlas: (l) Susan, m. Rev. Thomas Batch; 

(2) Mary Walker, m. Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones, U. S. N. ; (3) Elizabeth; (4) 
John Hill. 

Issue of Edward and Jane Carter of Cloverland: (l) Cassius, d. unm.; (2) Edward, d. 
unm.; (3) Shirley, Member of the House of Delegates; d. unm. about 1835; (4) John Hill 
of Falkland, m. 1st, Baynton, daughter of Thomas Turner of Kinloch. Fauquier County, and 
had: (l) Jane, m. Col. Robert Beverley of Fauquier County; John Hill Carter m. 2dly, Jane 
Loughborough, and iiad : (2) Lavinia, m. Nicholas Goldsborough ; (3) Cassius; (4) Shirley, 
m. Lucy Hite ; {5) Loughborough; (6) Caroline; (7) Eliza; (8) Mary, m. Commodore 
Bladen Dulaney, U. S. N. 

Issue of Dr. Robert and Mary [Nelson] Carter: (i) Hill of Shirley, b. 1796; served as 
an officer in the Navy ; m. Mary Braxton, daughter of Col. Ro' rt Randolph of Eastern 
View; (2) Anne, m. William F. Wickham, and was mother of Gl Williams C. Wickham ; 

(3) Lucy, m. Edmund Wickham; (4) Thomas Nelson of Pampatike, King William County, 
m. 1st, 1826, Juliette, daughter of Henry Gaines of Gloucester County; 2dly, Ann Willing, 
daughter of William Byrd Page. 

Issue of Hill and Mary [Randolph] Carter of Shirley; (i) Lewis Warrington, m. Agnes 
Haxall, and had: Shirley; (2) Robert Randolph of Shirley, d. 1886; Lieutenant U. S. N., 
and Captain C. S. N. ; m. Louise Humphreys, and had : Anne, m. H. W. Bransford, Marion ; 

(3) Charles, m. Fanny Nelson, and had : Mary R., Lucy, Charles, Hill, Betty, and Fanny ; 

(4) William Fitzhugh of Charles City County, m. Betty Pannill, and had : Donua, Alice 
Page, Eva, and Robert; (5) Eliza Hill, m. John Wickham; (6) Bernard Hill, Lieutenant 
Charles City County Troop C. S. Cavalry; killed in action near Fredericksburg May 2, 1862; 
(7) Beverley Randolph, m. Mary Anderson, a^id had: Beverley and Randolph Hill; (8) 
Anne, m. Chapman J. Leigh. / 

19 



290 GENEALOGY OF THE CARTER FAMILY. 

Issue of Thomas N. Carter of Pampatike by first marriage: (l) Dr. Robert, m. Pauline 
Davis, and had: Pauline and Robert; (2) Mary, m. Dr. Charles Buckner of Baltimore; (3) 
Thomas H. of Pampatike, Colonel of Artillery C. S. A. ; m. Sue Roy, and had : Juliette ; 
Thomas N. of Richmond, m. Agnes, daughter of Peter H. Mayo of Richmond; Anne Wil- 
ling, and Spencer Leslie; (4) Julian, C. S. A.; killed in battle; by 2d marriage, with Anne 
Page: (5) William P., m. Lucy Page; (6) Lucy, m. Robert Renshaw ; (7) Dr. Shirley, m. 
Mary Swan, and had : Shirley and Louisa. 

Issue of Bernard Moore and Lucy [Lee] Carter: (i) Charles Henry of Maryland, m. 
Eugenia Calvert, and had issue : Eugenia, m. Frank Hall ; Alice, m. Gov. Oden Bowie ; 
Bernard, a distinguished lawyer of Baltimore, Md., m. Mary Ridgeley; Ella, m. Samuel 
George; Mildred, Annette, and Mary R., m. George H. Bier; (2) Josephine, m. Count 
Eugene P'ranssen; (3) Matilda, m. Thomas W^illing of Philadelphia; (4) Charlotte, m. G. W. 
Fetherstonhaugh of England; (5) Bernard Moore, d. unm. 

Issue of Williams and Charlotte [Foushee] Carter of Hanover: (i) Dr. Williams, m. 
Sarah White, and d. s. p.; (2) Dr. Charles of Philadelphia, m. 1st, Emily Blight, and had: 
Maria, m. Robert Renshaw ; 2dly, Ellen Newman, and had : Williams, Eugenia, Charlotte, 
Mildred, James, Ellen, and Isabella; (3) Bella, d. unm.; (4) Charlotte, m. George Wickham. 

Issue of Edward and Sarah [Chanipe] Carter of Blenheim: (i) John Champe, Captain 
in the Revolution, m. Apphia, daughter of Col. William Fauntleroy of Richmond County ; 
(2) Sarah, m. ist, George Carter; 2dly, Dr. Cutting; (3) George, d. unm. ; (4) Whitaker, 
d. unm.; (5) Elizabeth, m. William Stanard of Roxbury, Spotsylvania County; (6) Jane, m. 
Ist, Major Samuel K. Bradford of the English army ; 2dly, Major Verminet of the French 
army; (7) Charles of Culpeper County, m. Betty Lewis; (8) William Champe, m. Maria, 
daughter of James Parke Farley; (9) Edward of Blenheim, m. ist, Mary Lewis; 2dly, Lucy, 
daughter of Valentine Wood ; 3dly, — Cash ; ( 10) Hill of Wine Hill, Amherst, m. Mary 
Rose; (11) Robert, m. Mary, daughter of John Coles of Albemarle; (12) Mary Champe, m. 
Judge Francis T. Brooke of the Court of Appeals, and d. 25 Oct., 1876; (13) Nancy, m. 
Gov. George M. Troupe of Georgia. 

Issue of John and Apphia [Fauntleroy] Carter: (l) Edward Hill, m. 1st, Louisa Jones, 
and had : Fredciick ; 2dly, — Kincade, and had : Kincade ; (2) William P., m. — Howard, 
and had: William P., m. — Turner, and had: Apphia: (3) Henry, m. Mary Thompson ; — 
(4) Charles Cocke, m. Jane Payne, and had : Thomas of Tennessee, Smith of Missouri, 
Apphia, m. Dr. Browne; Elizabeth, m. Dr. Anderson; Charles, and Robert; (5) John 
Champe, m. Mary Aldridge ; ^6) Thomas, m. Harriet Aldridge ; (7) Moore Fauntleroy, m. 
Elizabeth Barret. 

Issue of John and Mary [Aldridge] Carter: (i) Dr. Wallace of Arkansas, and had: 
Bonnie Jean, John Champe, Eltima B., Sarah, Lessie, and Lelia; (2) Kate, m. Dr. Barton 
of Tuscumbia, Ala. ; (3) Emily, m. ist, Charles Lenden ; 2dly, — Wroten ; (4) Harriet, m. 
Col. Withers of Alabama; (5) Mary Champe, m. W'illiam Bearden ; (6) Emma, m. Dr. 
Thomas H. Griffin; (7) Annie L., m. Samuel Griffin; (8) Aldridge. 

Issue of Thomas and Harriet [Aldridge] Carter: (i) Dr. Thomas of Arkansas and Mis- 
sissippi, who had : James B., who had : Lelia P. and Elizabeth ; Henry C, who had : Lizzie, 
Lottie, and Thomas A. ; Harriet E., m. W. F. Crabtree ; Mary V., m. M. F. Fleeman ; Mattie, 
Samuel, and Edna; (2) Henry F. of Marshall, Tex., m. Martha Felton, and had: Anne 



GENEALOGY OF THE CARTER FAMILY. 291 

Troupe, m. Capt. Thomas Brownrigg; Harriet A., Bettie L., m. W. H. Newman of Louis- 
ville; Mary C, Henry F., and William F. ; {3) Elizabeth; (4) Anne Troupe, m. — Taylor 
Sf Louisiana. 

Issue of Moore F. and Elizabeth [Barrett] Carter: (i) Charles H., m. Susan Bearden, 
and had: William C, Martha L., m. Oscar Jones; Moore F., Thomas A., Charles H., Ed- 
~ar C, and Nora L. ; (2) John C, m. 1st, Nannie Bearden, and had : Robert C, 2dly, Amanda 
Bearden, and had : Thomas E., Henry O., Susan, and Leroy ; (3) Apphia E., m. William C. 
Pitts; (4) Sarah J.,m. J. P. Montgomery; (5) Thomas; (6) Elizabeth; (7) Maria, m. H. B. 
Pitts; (8) William Hill of Mississippi, m. Martha Moore, and had : Sarah, Harriet, and Wil- 
liam; (9) Otho Williams. 

Issue of Charles and Bettie [Lewis] Carter of Culpeper: (i) Maria, m. Prof. George 
Tucker of the University of Virginia; (2) Sarah, m. Sir John Peyton, Baronet, of Gloucester 
County, Va., and d. 1807; (3) Eleanor, m. Henry Brown of Bedford County; (4) Farley, 
m. — Conn of Kentucky, and had: Ellen C, m. William W. Childs; Rose C, m. Edward 
Baugham; Mary C, ni. Dr. A. L. Robinson; William Farley, who m. and had issue: Wil- 
liam F., Mary, and Nannie; Philip, and Charles; (5) Otway Ann, m. Dr. Owens of Ken- 
:uckv ; (6) George W'ashington, m. Mary Wormeley, andTTad : Maria E., m. Stephen Cobb; 
Rosalie, m. M.A.Jenkins of Mississippi; Eleanor C. ; Sophia F., m. W. D. Posllethwait of 
Louisiana ; Georgiana, m. D. O. Merwin of Missouri ; (7) Fielding, m. — Smith of Arkansas, 
md had : William Champe, m. Maria [Farley] Carter, and had one child, Elizabeth Storrow. 

Issue of Edward and Mary [Lewis] Carter of Blenheim: (i) Dr. Charles of Charlottes- 
ville, m. Mary Cocke, and had : Charles, C. S. A. ; killed in battle ; Champe, m. Col. Green 
Peyton, C. S. A.; Lucy, m. Peter Minor of Albemarle County; Mary, m. John Singleton of 
50uth Carolina; (2) Robert Willis, m. Mary Franklin, and had: Charles, Robert, Roberta, 
ind Elizabeth; (3) Edward Champe, m. — Turner, and d. s. p. ; (4) Champe, m. — Mont- 
gomery, and had: Edward H., m. 1st, Sarah Bostwick, and had: MaryE; 2dly, Harriet 
Rogers, and had : Henry L., Louis, Susan R., Hattie, Lucy, and Thomas ; Champe-of Texas, 
T>. Victoria Randolph; Richard Ellis, m. Olivia Stanchfield, and had: Champe S., Earnest 
5., Minnie L., and Kate; Charles L.,m. Louisa E. Wright, and had: Eva K., Mary; Josiah, 
n. Amanda Mcllton, and had: Eliza, Jane, Powhatan, Patrick H. ; (5) Mary, m. William 
[I. McCuUoch ; (6) Peter J. of Texas, m. Julia Taylor, and had : Lucy, John Brown ; Sally C, 
n. William Brown; William Henry, d. unm. ; George, Peter, Mary L., Thomas, Laura; 
fulia, m. — Rives; Charles Edward, T. Washington, m. — Digges, and had: Edward; 
8) William; (9) Caroline; (10) Laura, m. 1st, — Davis; 2dly, — Powers; (ll) Julia, m. 
— Reynolds; (12) Dr. John of New Orleans, La., m. Lucetta S. Todd, and had: Florence, 
[ohn, Letitia, Virginia, Charles, Todd, Edward L., Laura B., and Thomas; (13) Stanley. 

Issue of Hill and Mary [Rose] Carter of Amherst: (i) Apphia, m. Dr. John C. Redd 
)f Henry County; (2) Robert H., m. ist, — Thurman, and had : Mary, m. Col. Sprinkel of 
riarrisburg; 2dly, — Hall, and had : Sarah; (3) Henry Bose of Hanover County, m. Emma 
"oleman, and had: Hill of Ashland, who m. Emily Redd, and had: Henry R., Samuel T., 
lill. and Clarence; Nannie, m. Samuel Redd; Henry R., Edward C, Charles, Emma C, 
md Mary; (4) Hill of Amherst; (5) Patrick R., who had: Henry R. ; (6) Sarah, m. John 
... Eubank; (7) Charles; (8) Dr. George N. of North Carolina, m. Julia Jones, and had: 
jeorge N. and Nannie; (9) Dr. James of Charlotte, m. ist, Laura Henry, no issue: 2dly, 
''■\rtha Gaines, and had : R. Gaines. 



292 GENEALOGY OF THE CARTER FAMILY. 



Issue of Robert and Mary [Coles] Carter: (l) John, m. ist, — Bankhead, and had: 
Robert, Anne, m. Henry Preston ; and John ; 2dly, Margaret Coleman, and had : Isaetta, 
Charles Edward, Ellen B., Shirley and Blenheim; (2) Isaetta; (3) Robert Hill of Redlands, 
m. Margaret Smith, and had: Mary, Robert, Margaret, and Sarah; (4) Mary, m. George 
Rives; (5) Sarah, m. Benjamin Randolph. 

Issue of Robert and Priscilla [Bladen] Carter of Nomini : (l) Elizabeth ; (2) Col. Robert 
of Nomini, called " Councillor Carter." b. 1728; d. 4 Mar., 1804; m. Frances F. Tasker of 
Maryland. 

Issue of Robert and Frances [Tasker] Carter of Nomini: (l) Benjamin; (2) Robert; 

(3) John ; (4) Sophia; (5) Harriet; (6) Mary; (7) Rebecca, all d. unm. ; (8) Frances, m. 

Major Thomas Jones of Bathurst, Essex County; (9) George of Oatlands, m. Betty Lewis, - 

and had : George of Oatlands, who m. Kate Powell, and had : George and Elizabeth ; and 

Benjamin G. of Loudon County, who m., 1864, Sue Fitzhugh of King George County; (10) 

Priscilla, m. — Mitchell; (11) Ann T., m. John Mound; (12) Betty Landon, m. Spencer 

Ball; (13) Julia, m. Dr. Robert Berkeley; (14) Sarah, m. — Chinn. 

v ( /,,, ■ 
Issue of Charles Carter of Cleve by his first marriage, with Mary WaHte: (i) Charles of 

Ludlow, m. Elizabeth, daughter of Col. John Chiswell ; (2) Mary, m. Charles Carter of Shir- 
ley; (3) Elizabeth, m. William Churchill of Wilton, Middlesex Co.; (4) Judith, m. William 
Burnet Browne of Elsing Green, King William Co. 

Issue of Charles Carter of Cleve by his second iparriage, with Ann Byrd : (5) Anna, m. 
1st, John Champe, Jr. ; 2dly, Lewis Willis; (6) Lucy, d. unm. ; (7) John, m. 1771, Phila- 
delphia, daughter of Col. Philip Whitehead Claiborne, and had : Anne, m. John Lyons of 
Richmond; (8) Maria, m. Armistead of Hesse; (9) .Sarah, m. William Thompson of Cul- 
peper County; (10) Landon of Cleve, d. 1811; m. 1st, Mildred Willis; 2dly, Elizabeth, 
daughter of Robert W. Carter of Sabine Hall, and widow of Tresley Thornton; (ii) Caro- 
line, m. Dr. Elisha Hall of Fredericksburg; (12) Jane, m. Gawin Corbin. 

Issue of Charles Carter of Cleve by his third marriage, with Lucy Taliaferro: (13) Ann 
Walker, m. John Catlett of Timberneck, Gloucester Co., Va. 

Issue of Charles and Elizabeth [Chiswell] Carter of Ludlow: (i) Elizabeth, m. Robert 
Page of Hanover Town; (2) Mary; (3) John Charles, b. 1771; d. 1S05; (4) George W., 
b. 1777; d. 1809; (5) Walker Randolph, m. Sarah Champe, daughter of William Stanard 
of Roxbury; (6) Dr. Charles Landon. 

Issue of Walker R. and Sarah [Stanard] Carter: (l) Viornnet, d. unm.; (2) Charles 
W., d. unm. ; (3) William Hill, d. unm. ; (4) Mary Walker, d. young; (5) John Champe, 
Commodore U. S. N., m. Elizabeth Phelps, and had : Edward ; and Rebecca, m. Col. Craw- 
ford, U. S. A.; (6) Walker Randolph, m. Rebecca Ann Shreeve ; (7) Virginia Ann, m. D. 
S. Benedict of St. Louis, Mo. ; (8) Mary Walker, d. unm. ; (9) Francis, m. ist, Emma Denny, 
and had: Rebecca, m. A. C. Rowson; Nannie R., m. S. S. Nicholas; 2dly, — Meriwether, 
no issue : (10) Edward; (»i) Henry. 

Issue of Walker R. and Rebecca [Shreeve] Carter: (i) Henry S., m. ist, Mary Palmer, 
and had : James Constantine, Emma N., and Henry S. ; 2dly, Emma Douglas, and had : 
Lurline, Mary, Callie P., and Douglas R. ; (2) Sarah Champe, m. Benjamin O. Fallow; (3) 
Frank of St. Louis. Mo., m. Fannie Scott of Fredericksburg, Va., and had : Rebecca and 



GENEALOGY OF THE CARTER FAMILY. 



293 



bhn S. ; (4) Israel Shreeve, m. Harriet L. Dunham; (5) Virginia B., d. unm. ; (6) Walker 
I., d. unm.; (7) Mary S., m. Benjamin O. Fallow; (8) Elizabeth; (9) John William. 

Issue of Landon Carter of Cleve by his first marriage, with Mildred Willis : (1) Mildred 
Vnn, b. 1774; m. ist, Robert Mercer; 2dly, John Lewis; (2) Sarah, b. 1777; d. unm.; (3) 
^ucy L., b. 1776; m. Gen. John Minor of Fredericksburg. 

Issue of Landon Carter of Cleve by his second marriage, with Elizabeth Thornton : (4) 
:iobert Charles, b. 1783; m. — Beale, who d. s. p.; (5) Col. St. Leger Landon of Cleve, 
). 1785, who d. s. p.; (6) Elizabeth B., b. 1787; m. William Macfarland ; (7) Thomas O. B., 
). 1790; d. 1840 unm. ; (8) Frances L., m. Josiah Tidball ; (9) Edward of Cleve, b. 1797; 
J. 1818 unm.; (10) Anna Maria, b. 1799; d. 1822. 

Issue of Landon Carter of Sabine Hall by his second marriage, with Maria Byrd (there 
vas no issue by first marriage) : (l) Maria, m. Robert Beverley of Blanfield, Essex County; 
2) Judith, m. Reuben Beale; (3) John of Sudley, Prince William County, m. Janet Ham- 
Iton ; (4) Landon of Pittsylvania, m. Judith Fauntleroy. 

Issue of Landon Carter of Sabine Hall by his third marriage, with Elizabeth Wormeley : 
'5) Elizabeth W., m. Nelson Berkeley of Airwell, Hanover County; (6) Lucy, m. William 
Colston; (7) Robert Wormeley of Sabine Hall, m. Winifred Beale; Burgess from Richmond 
County 1775-76; Member of the House of Delegates 1775, T787. 

Issue of John and Janet [Hamilton] Carter of Sudley: (i", Robert of Kentucky, m. Hebe 
Grayson, and had : Alfred G., m. Elizabeth — ; William of Kvntucky, m. — Shelby ; Robert, 
m. — Berkeley; John, Landon, and Hebe, m. — Mann; (2; Landon of Woodlands, Lou- 
don County, m. Mrs. Lewis; (3) Ann B., m. John Armistead; (4) John of Number Six, 
Fauquier County, m. Eliza Brooke; (5) Janet, m. Edward Carter of Cleveland; (6) George, 
m. — Coates; (7) Edward of Fauquier County, m. Fanny Scott; (8) Elizabeth, m. Joseph 
Tidball; (9) Matilda, m. Lewis Beckwith of Kentucky. 

Issue of Landon and — [Lewis] Carter o5' Woodlands : (i) Edw.".vd, m. Mary Aines, 
and had: George Hatley and Mary; (2) George; (3) Hatley, m. Ermna Steinrod, and had: 
Landon, m. Rose Carter; Courtney, Sarah, Lillian, Mary, and Alfied; y\\ Sarah, m. Alfred 
Ball; (5) Edmonia, m. Benjamin Chinn ; (6) Cary Ann. '., ., 

Issue of John and Eliza [Brooke] Carter of Number Six: (1) Landon, m. Eliza Triplett, 
and had: Henry F., John F., Pinkney, Gertrude, and Millie; (2) John B., d. unm. ; (3) 
Robert, m. Eliza P. Hall; (4) William H., m. — Ister; (5) Augusta; (6) Fitzhugh ; (7) 
Thomas T., m. Sarah Taliaferro, and had : Robert, Shirley, and Eliza ; (8) Harriet, m. Wil- 
liam O. Shelton. 

Issue of George and — [Coates] Carter: (i) Westwood, ro. — Ashby, and had: Meri- 
wether T., George Wade, Joseph M., Robert T., Jennie L., Eh.en S., Nannie S., Oscar F., 
and (lertrude M. ; (2) William Fitzhugh of I'airfax County, in. Eliza Lucy Ball, and had: 
John Spencer, d. unm.; Eliza Lucy, m._jst, John E. Frost; 2dlv, J. H. Birch of Missouri; 
William F. of Mississippi, d. unm. ; Louisa, m. Dr. B. F. Taliaferro of Epson ; Robert Wro- 
tham of Nomini, Miss., m. Eliza M. Balch, and had : William F., Surgeon'U. S. A. ; Ann B., 
Robert, Lucy, Cassius, Thomas, Susan, and Alfred; Cato,!'., m. Loui.se Bronaugh, and had: 
Rose, m. Landon Carter; Louisa T., Pauline, Earnestin^, Fanny, Jane, Robert, George, and 
John; Alfred, m. Bettie Randolph, and had: Alfred /(nd Virginia; Cassius, ni. Jane Talia- 
ferro; Mary A., m. William H. Thornton. 



tUt 



V- 



294 GENEALOGY OE THE CARTER EAMILY. 



Issue of Edward and Fanny [Scott] Carter: (l) William F. : (2) Richard, m. Mary de 
Butts, and had: Fanny, ni. Robert T. Scott; Sophia, m. R. Welby Carter: Edward, m. 
Jane Turner, and had: Rebecca. Sarah, Mary, and Lena; Nina, m. John Washington; 1. 
Alexander, ni. Mary Henly de Butts; Mary W., m. William Beverley; Richardetta. ni. 
Robert Beverley, Jr.; (3) Josiah ; (4) Winston. C. S. A.; killed in battle; m. Louisa W. 
Nelson, and had : Joseph Bleight, Christian, and Stuart; (^5) Robert; (6) Mary Landonia ; 
(7) Virginia; (S) Eliza; (9) Christian. 

Issue of Landon^ and Judith [Fauntleroy] Carter of Tittsylvania : (l) Moore Fauntleroy, 
m. Judith L. KdniVjnds, and had: Moore F., who had: Elizabeth, ni. — llall; John N\ .. 
Moore F., Agnes, Lucy, ."^hirley, and William; Mary, m. — Edmiinds ; Eli/abelh, ni. — 
Blackwell ; Helen, m. John L. Fdmijnds; Elizabeth, m. Thomas tHway Carter; (2'l Charles 
Beale, m. Ann Stuatt, and had: Catharine, Judith, m. Edwin Carter; Hebe, m. William 
Ashby ; Marion, m. Capt. William Rhodes ; Ellen, m. W. Brenton Boggs ; Charles, Duncan B. ; 
(3) Elizabeth; (4> Margaret, m. — Hool ; (5) Wormeley, m. l.ucinda Alexander, and had: 
Anne E.. m. Robert Hamilton; Catherine. William Alexander, m. Mary E. Hamilton, and 
had: Marv. .\nn. Sarah, Roberta, William, and Edgar; Sarah M., m. Townshend Stewart; 
John W., m. — Hayden ; Richard Henrv ; Landon, m. Emily H. Carter, and had: John, 
Landon, Sarah Jane, Wormeley. Edwin L., Ann B., Landonia, Thomas O., and Virginia M. ; 
Richard H. ; AddL-ion Bowles, m. Lucy Barnwell, and had: Mann I'age, Maria, and Shirley; 
Thomas Otway, ni. Judith Carter; \(^\ Mary. m. y%vc\ Bruce;' (7) Judith, m. l>r. Isaac Henry, 
U. S. N. : (S) John, m. Jane Edwards, and bad: Emily; Henry, ni. Landon Carter; John; 
Edwin, m. Judith .\. Carter, an^l had : John F., Edwin. Stuart, m. Roberta Rhodes. 

Issue of Robert W. and Winifred (Beale] Carter of Sabine Hall : (l) George, m. Sarah 
Carter of Blenheim, and had : Sarahj! Mary. m. (lilies Thoinpson ; Landon ; and Fanny, m. 
John Law of Wtshington, D. C. ; /a) Col. Landon of Sabine Hall, b. 1756; d. 29 Aug., 
1S20; m. 1st, Catherine, daughter /of Col. John Tayloe of Mount Airy. Richmond County; 
2dly. Mary B., daughter of John Armistead; (3) Fanny, m. J. Lee; (4) Nancy, m. Charles 
Carter; (5) Elizabet'i, -.n. ist, Presley Thornton; 2dly, Charles Carter of Cleve. 

Issue of Landon Carter by his tirst marri.age, with Catherine Tayloe: (l) Winifred; (2) 
Lucy; (3) Elizjlbeth ; (4) Robert Wormeley of Sabine H.all. d. 20 Oct., 1861 ; m. Elizabeth 
M. Tayloe of Mt. .\iry, and had: Elizabeth, m. Dr. A. N. Wellford, and inherited Sabine 
Hall ; .\nne. ni. W, 1!. Tomtin. 

Issue of Landon Carter by his second marri;\ge, with Mary B. Armistead; (6) John Armi- 
stead, m. Richardetta ile Butts, and had : Richard Welby. Colonel C. S. A. ; m. Sopliia D. 
Carter, and had: Mary M., branny S., Sophia, John. Richard \V.. and Harry; (7) Famiy. m. 
Rosier I>ulaney, U. S. A. ; (8) Landon, d. unm. 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 






In 1728 there died 
near Albany, New 
York, one Robert 
Livingston, styled in 
the records of his 
time " Lord of ye 
Manor of Living- 
ston," a canny 
Scotchman, whose 
descendants were 
destined to figure 
conspicuously in the 
annals of their coun- 
try and to be called 
" famous " unto the 
third and fourth 
generation, because 
of their political and 
legal acumen a n d 
their great riches. 

In common with 
almost every other 

adventurer who, in those early days, cast their lot in the 
wilds of America, this hardy Scot, when a youth, had but 

297 




LIVINGSTON ARMS. 



298 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



little of this world's goods to bless himself with, and sought 
to earn a livelihood or to acquire a fortune in the New 
Netherlands. 

It is not, indeed, difficult to understand why he should 
choose the New Netherlands in preference to the other Ameri- 
can plantations open to colonists at that time. The Dutch 
province was considered then as the most likely of all the 
American settlements to yield a goodly profit for a trifling 
investment if the investor personally overlooked his outlay ; 
but he must be of an adventurous disposition, possess a spirit 
undaunted by dangers, hardships, and reverses, and a consti- 
tution of iron. He must also have those innate qualities of a 
diplomatic kind which render one fitted to barter with savages, 
and such a mercantile turn of mind as would not scruple to 
drive a hard bargain with the simple-minded but dangerous 
natives. These traits of character Robert Livino-ston seems 
to have possessed to a very remarkable degree, with the addi- 
tional advantage of having mastered several languages, for 
he spoke English, Dutch, and French fluently and easily and 
quickly acquired the various dialects of the Indians. In all 
of his numerous transactions with the natives he seems to 
have inspired them with confidence and respect, and if, at any 
time, they had grave doubts regarding the profits which 
accrued to Livingston or the sincerity of his dealings, such 
suspicions were quickly allayed by the great skill which he 
displayed in his explanations and the magnetism of his 
manner. Many of these inherited traits of character he 
transmitted to his descendants. 

He was, unquestionably, of gende birth and a cadet of 
the house of Livingston of Callendar in Scotland, but just 
how he was related to that powerful family will, probably, 
never be ascertained. 

His father, Rev. John Livingston of Ancrum, Teviot- 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 299 

dale, Roxburghe, had been banished to Holland for some 
political offence, and died at Rotterdam in 1672. It is said 
that this John Livingston had been one of those commis- 
sioners who, in 1650, were constituted to offer the Scottish 
crown to Charles Stewart. 

Regarding his marriage to Janet Fleming, which occurred 
during the time he was proscribed for religious opinions not 
in accord with the Established Church, but before his independ- 
ent spirit led him into graver offences, he writes as follows : 

"In June, 1635, the Lord was graciously pleased to bless 
me with my wife, who how well accomplished every way, and 
how faithful a yoke-fellow, I desire to leave to the memory of 
others. She was the eldest daughter of Bartholomew Fleming, 
merchant in Edinburg, of most worthy memory, whose brothers 
were John Fleming, merchant in Edinburg, and Mr. James 
Fleming, minister at Bathans. Her father died at London in 
the year 1624, and was laid hard by Mr. John Welsh, and 
these two only, of a long time, had been solemnly buried 
without the Service Book. Her mother was a rare godly 
woman, Marion Hamilton, who had also three religious sisters 
— Elizabeth, married to Mr. Richard Dickson, minister first 
at the West Church of Edinburg, after at Kinneil ; Barbara, 
married to John Mein, merchant in Edinburg ; and Beatrix, 
married to Mr. Robert Blair. Her brother, James Fleming, 
a gracious and hopeful youth, died in the year 1640 ; [and] a 
while after, his sister Marion died when she had been some 
time married to Mr. John M'Clellan, minister at Kirkcudbright. 
Her mother, with her second husband, John Stevenson, and 
her family, came to Ireland in the end of the year 1633. 
When I went [on] a visit to Ireland in the year 1634, Mr. 
Blair proposed to me that marriage. Immediately thereafter 
I was sent to London, to have gone to New England, and 
returned the June following. I had seen her before several 



300 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 

times in Scotland, and heard the testimony of many of her 
gracious disposition ; yet I was for nine months seeking as I 
could direction from God anent that business, during which 
time I did not offer to speak to her (who I believe had not 
heard anything of the matter), only for want of clearness in 
my mind, although I was thrice in the house, and saw her fre- 
quently at communion and public meetings ; and it is like I 
might have been longer in that darkness, except the Lord had 
presented an occasion of our conferring together ; for in 
November, 1634, when I was going to the Friday meeting at 
Antrim, I foregathered with her and some others going 
thither, and propounded to them by the way." 

He continues, that havinof thus entered into conversation 
with Janet Fleming, he was soon after led to address her 
touching the proposed marriage, and especially requesting 
her to pray long and earnestly regarding his proposition, in 
order that she might be divinely guided either to accept or 
refuse him. It would appear that she did not weigh the 
matter long, for we read that presently Mr. Livingston went 
to her mother more fully to arrange matters, and, she assent- 
ing, the marriage took place soon after in Edinburgh, the 
groom's father. Rev. William Livingston, performing the 
ceremony, and under constant fear of arrest or interruption. 

"In Scotland," he says, "we were married in the West 
Church of Edinburgh by my father, June 23, 1635, ^'^d ^^" 
though some told me some few days before that Spottiswood, 
who was then Chancellor of Scotland, had given orders to 
macers to apprehend me. Our marriage was very solemn, 
and countenanced with the presence of a good number of re- 
liorious friends, amonof whom was also the Earl of Wieton and 
his son, my Lord Fleming, in the house of her uncle, John 
Fleming, who did as great a duty [to her] as if she had been 
his own daucrhter ; and Providence so ordered it, that there- 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 301 

after at several times I was present with him and his eight 
daiiorhters on their death-bed, and clearly discerned in them 
all full evidences of the erace of God. I was also at the o-racious 
death of her uncle, Mr. James, minister at Bathans." 

In his Memoirs Rev. John Livingston alludes thus to his 
parentage : 

" My father was Mr. William Livingston, first minister at 
Monyabroach, where he entered in the year 1600, and there- 
after was transported about the year 1614 to be minister at 
Lanark, where he died in the year 1641, being sixty-five years 
old. His father was Mr. Alexander Livingston, minister also 
at Monyabroach, who was a near relation to the house of 
Callendar. His father, who was killed at Pinkiefield, Anno 
Christi 1547, being a son of the Lord Livingstons, which 
house thereafter was dignified to be Earls of Linlithgow." 

Notwithstanding, however, this very explicit statement, 
the historian of the family, in his Livingstons of Callendar, has 
not been able to trace the line farther back. Robert Living- 
ston came to New York in 1674, when scarcely of age, and 
as a prospective servant of the government. He settled at 
Albany, then a frontier Indian trading-post, and in due course 
of time married Alida, the daughter of Philip Schuyler and 
widow of Rev. Nicholas Van Rensselaer. 

He was presently appointed secretary of Albany, and 
soon after, through interests in England, got a commission to 
be clerk of Indian affairs, an office at that time and afterward 
considered unnecessary by the settlers. He was, at different 
times, a member of the Provincial Assembly, and was chosen 
Speaker of that body in 17 18. Robert Livingston was a 
remarkable man in many respects. No settler in New York 
of his day, or indeed at any other period in Colonial history, 
stands out so boldly from the archives as one who through 
good and evil report, wealth and poverty, strode straight- 



302 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



forward, unaltered, unshaken, and undismayed, toward the 
o-oal which in youth he had selected, and which in old aee he 
finally attained — the possession of a great fortune. 

In the pursuit of the one cherished ambition of his life this 
man spared no friend or feared any foe, and in the perfection 
of his plans he did not hesitate to take advantage of the 
various social and political conditions which then existed in 
New York for the furtherance of his purpose, "I would 
rather be called Knave Livingston." said he in reply to a 
taunt, "than be a poor man." Robert Livingston brought 
with him to the Province a few hundred pounds, inherited, 
doubtless, irom his lather. It could not have been more, 
because his brother James and a sister, who married one 
Russell of Rotterdam, came in for their share of an estate 
that had never been large. This money he at once utilized 
by obtaining a license as victualler to the English troops in 
the Province, especially the garrison at Albany ; and this 
trade he followed during a great part of his life with a few 
intervals, when his enemies prevailed against him for a time. 
In connection with liis occupation he established a supply and 
trading store at Albany and opened a tavern. On his own 
land he erected a brewery, distillery, mill, and bakehouse. 
His position as clerk and secretary of Indian affairs gave him 
an opportunity to barter various goods, especially rum. war- 
paint, gunpowder, and arms, with the natives in return for 
their valuable furs. The accumulation of capital led to ven- 
tures in privateering, which at that time was little short of 
piracy ; and in such ventures the Earl of Belomont was his 
partner and chief supporter. It appears that Belomont. on 
account of his interest at court, obtained the necessary com- 
missions from the Crown and raised the bulk of the cash, 
while Livingston and others obtained the men and ships and 
disposed of the goods. This was especially so in the case of 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



303 



the notorious Captain Kidd, who had been a particular friend 
of Livino-ston, and between whom and Belomont, Livincrston, 
and others there was a specific contract. 

Kidd's blunder in carrying the matter too far resulted 
in his subsequent execution, and his associates in the con- 




ROBERT LIVINGSTON, FIRST ToWN CI.ERK. OF ALBANY. 



tract were openly accused of connivance at his acts, but 
saved themselves throucrh the earl's influence and Kidd's 
death. These business relations with Belomont and other 
noblemen served Livingston to a good purpose when his 
enemies charged him with making false returns as a col- 
lector of revenue, of debauchin^r the Indians, of claiming^ 
money not due him, and of creating unnecessary offices that 



304 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



he might draw the attached salaries : for the Lords of Coun- 
cil, on the recommendation of Belomont and odiers inter- 
ested, not only had tlie inquiry- into his accounts quashed, 
but even restored him to those offices widiin die direct oift 
of the Crown. 

Robert Livingston, indeed, was exceedingly useful to the 
government. His acquaintance with Indian methods was 
considerable ; and he was not only allied to the Dutch and 
in touch widi the best of them through his marriage with 
Alida Schuyler, but from his residence in Rotterdam was 
perfectly familiar with their language and manners, whilst his 
long service as clerk at Albany made him intimate with ever\- 
detail of the intricate affairs of the Province and the almost 
universal dishonesty of those holding ofhce. Ihe Council, 
moreover, bore testimonv that he was a tirst-class victualler. 
These qualitications commended him to Governor Hunter, 
who. amid a hail of opposition, ever continued his friend, and 
under whose patronage Livingston at last achieved that con- 
dition of prominent prosperity which he had constantly and 
untiringly sought. 

It was with Hunter's approval that a large body of Pala- 
tines were imported into the Province and planted on Living- 
ston's lands, and the scheme to have the goNcrnment furnisli 
them food for a continued time was unquestionablv that Li\- 
ingston as victualler might protit by supplying them. He 
purchased from the Indians, for a mere song, a number oi 
large tracts of land along the Hudson River and westward, 
until at last liis possessions amounted to a hundred and sixtv- 
two thousand acres, including a considerable portion of the 
present Columbia and Dutchess counties. This vast terri- 
tory Robert Livingston had erected into •• the Manor anol 
Lordship ot Livingston '" by a patent troni CunerniM- Dcmi- 
gan. afterward confirmed In' a nnal charter from George I. 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 305 



Robert Livingston's first purchase of land was for two 
thousand acres, afterward a part of Livingston Manor. He 
secured it by a deed dated 12th June, 16S3, from two Indians 
and their squaws. The tract is described as being- "on Rollof 
fansen's Hill." and the consideration paid by Robert Living- 
ston to the Indians was the promise to deliver over to the 
savages the following : 300 guilders in zewant. 8 blankets, 2 
child's blankets, 25 ells of duffels, 4 garments of strouds. 10 
large shirts. 10 small ditto. 10 pairs of large stockings, 10 
small pairs ditto. 6 guns, 50 lbs. powder. 50 staves of lead, 4 
caps. 10 kettles, 10 axes, 10 adzes, 2 lbs. paint, 20 little scis- 
sors, 20 little looking-glasses, 100 fish-hooks, awls and nails 
of each 100. 4 rolls tobacco, 100 pipes. 10 bottles, 3 kegs of 
rum. I bbl. o\. strong beer. 20 knives. 4 stroud coats and 2 
dutt'el coats, and 4 tin kettles. It was claimed that he cheated 
the Mohawks most outrageously in some of his purchases, 
making deeds for more land than bargained for, which the 
Indians signed under a misapprehension ; and. although this 
appears to have been the case, it was so common an occur- 
rence then that even his enemies did not regard it seriously. 

Robert Livingston is said to have been a tall, handsome 
man, of courtly bearing and considerable education. He 
was of a somewhat roving nature and loved adventure. One 
of his voyages to England was taken for purely business pur- 
poses brierty referred to, and the following is of interest be- 
cause it gives some detail regarding the voyage, and also 
shows how crests and arms have been sometimes assumed in 
this country without an)- authority whatever : 

"In the autumn of 1694. Robert Livingston, thinking it 
necessary to go to England to advance his interests at his 
former home in the old country, before leaving resigned the 
office which he held at Albanv. and then sailed on his desti- 
nation. It we may credit the tamilv tradition, his voyage was 
20 



3o6 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



disastrous ; he was shipwrecked on the coast of Portugal, and 
compelled to cross Spain and France by land. This anecdote 
is in some measure corroborated by the change in the Liv- 
ingston coat-of-arms, which have, so far back as they can be 
traced in this country, borne for crest a demi-savage ; and, it 




ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. 



is said, that the alteration was made by him in commemoration 
of this event : a ship in distress, in lieu of the original demi- 
savage, still borne by the family in Scotland and again re- 
placed by the present members of the family in this country. 
In allusion to this incident it is said that he changed the motto 
also, adopting instead of that of the Scottish family, ' Si je 
puis,' the motto ' Spero meliora' [C/crnioui)^ 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 307 

Governor William Livingston of New Jersey writes thus 
to Colonel Livingston in Holland, June loth, 1785 : 

" My Grandfather (Robert) on the occasion of his being 
cast away on the coast of Portugal altered the crest and 
motto of the family arms, the former into a ship in an 
adverse wind, the latter into ' Spero meliora.' These have 
since been retained by all the family except myself, who not 
being able, without ingratitude to Providence, to wish for 
more than I had, changed the former into a ship under full 
, sail, and the latter into ' Aut mors vita decora.'" 
' There is one thing of which we have not spoken, and that 
is Livingston's devotion to the Stuarts. This loyalty to the 
Scotch line nearly ruined him, for, "being a Scotchman and 
a friend of the Jesuit missionaries among the Mohawks and 
j Oneidas, [he] was easily accused of leaning toward the cause 
] of the dethroned Stuart. Under the plea that he had not 
! accounted for the revenues of the king .... his home was 
• searched for the accounts. Livingston, however, had fled, 
' taking all his papers with him, so that the commissionaries 
1 found only a chest containing papers of the Jesuit Vaillant." 
I They got several people to swear to Livingston having made 
! use of language derogatory to King William, and in sending 
these affidavits to Leisler [then in temporary control of affairs] 
they write: "We send your honor herewith six affidavits 
, against the aforesaid Livingston regarding His Majesty, and 
I with them goes a package of papers which are found in an 
\ old chest with some jewels, formerly the property of the 
j Jesuit Vaillant from Canada." Whilst, however, the above 
shows that Livingston was intimate with Stuart adherents, yet 
the papers captured had originally belonged to Father Pere 
Bruyas, missionary at Fort Hunter.X 

In 1728, as we have before remarked, Robert Livingston 
died. If he had not rained the love of his fellow-colonists. 



308 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



he had, at least, obtained their respect ; for none loved to 
drive a close barg-ain better than the Dutch, and Livino-ston 
had certainly lived up to that standard of excellence. 

There were, indeed, very many things that Livingston and 
his fellow-colonists did in common, such as selling rum and 
arms to the Indians to be used against the New Englanders 
and French, or collecting their rebates and commissions on 
government supplies, or defrauding the Mohawks of their 
lands and furs. 

Like all Scotchmen, Livingston declined to mix religion 
with business ; and therefore, having observed so little of it 
in the public record of his life, w^e are surprised to find that 
he actually built a church at Albany, and caused to be erected 
there, within its portals, a tomb for himself and his posterity. 
A historian of the family writes : 

"Robert Livingston was buried in his family vault, which 
he had built under a church erected by himself at a short dis- 
tance from his Manor House, and known in later days as 
Linlithgow Church. This church in course of time fell into 
decay, and was subsequently pulled down, and a new one 
built in its place some few miles farther off. Within recent 
years, however, through the efforts of Mr. Johnston Living- 
ston of Tivoli and other members of the family in America, a 
memorial church has been erected over the vault and a tablet 
placed on it." 

Robert Livingston left the bulk of his vast estate to his 
eldest son, Philip, who had some years before succeeded 
his father in the office of secretary of Indian affairs, a 
desirable position, as it gave him great advantages in trad- 
ing with the native tribes. This Philip Livingston was a 
thriving New York merchant and of considerable prom- 
inence in the Province, servinof as a member of the Gov- 
ernor's Council and the Assembly. He is said to have de- 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 309 

voted considerable of his time, in later life, to entertain- 
ment at his three mansions at Albany, New York, and the 
Manor. 

The eldest son of Philip Livingston, Robert, became lord 
of the manor ; the other three, Peter Van Brugh, Philip, and 




PHILIP LIVINGSTON. 



William, became famous for their championship of the cause 
of American Independence. 

The first lord of the manor had provided for his second 
son, Robert, before his decease ; to him was o-iven New Cler- 
mont on the Hudson. Here Robert Livingston, second of 
the name, built a large stone house, which he afterward in his 
old age gave to his son. Judge Robert Livingston, and which 



3IO CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



we will speak of farther on. Tradition has it that Clermont 
was the gift of the tirst Robert to his son as a reward for the 
discovery by him of a plot among the Indians to massacre the 
inhabitants of Albany, and one version of the old tale is that 
the bloody conspiracy was communicated to young- Robert 
Livingston by a pretty, young- Mohawk sc^uaw. who had fallen 
in love with the handsome young Scotch trader, and that her 
life was a forfeit for her passionate attachment. If, like his 
brother Philip. Robert possessed "a winning way with women 
and went about breaking hearts promiscuously," the old tra- 
dition may have some grains of truth in it. 

We know that both Robert and Philip spent their younger 
days among the natives, and that they both started in life as 
Indian traders, which was the luiiversal custom of beginning- 
life at that time in that place. Of this custom an annalist of 
Albany writes : 

"Early marriages, being the rule among this primitive 
people, acted as an incentive to the 'boys.' as they called 
the young, unmarried men. to become traders on their own 
account at the earliest opportunity, so as to provide the 
means of obtaining an establishment of their own ; and. Mrs. 
Grant says, ' when one of the boys was deeply smitten, his 
fowling-piece and fishing-rod were at once relinquished. He 
demanded of his father forty or at most fifty dollars, a negro 
boy, and a canoe ; all of a sudden he assumed the brow of 
care and solicitude and began to smoke, a precaution abso- 
lutely necessary to repel aguish damps and troublesome in- 
sects. He arrayed himself in a habit very little differing from 
that of the aborigines into whose bounds he Mas about to 
penetrate ; and. in short, commenced Indian trader — that 
strange amphibious animal, who, uniting the acute senses, 
strong instincts, and unconquerable patience and fortitude of 
the savage with the wit, polic)-, and inventions of the Euro- 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



311 



pean, encountered in the pursuit of gain dangers and diffi- 
culties equal to those described in the romantic legends of_ 
chivalry. The small bark canoe in which this hardy adven- 




CHANCELI.OR 1,1V1N(;ST0N. 



turer embarked himself, his fortune, and his faithful squire 
(who was generally born in the same house and predestined 
to his service) was launched amid the tears and prayers of 
his female relations, amongst whom was generally included 



312 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



his destined bride, who well knew herself to be the motive of 
this perilous adventure. The canoe was entirely filled with 
coarse strouds and blankets, guns, powder, beads, etc., suited 
to the various wants and fancies of the natives ; one per- 
nicious article was never wanting, and often made a great 
part of the cargo. This was ardent spirits, for which the 
natives too early acquired a relish, and the possession ot 
which always proved dangerous and sometimes fatal to the 
traders. The Mohawks bringing their furs and other peltry 
habitually to the store of their wonted friends and patrons, It 
was not in that easy and safe direction that these trading 
adventures extended. The canoe generally steered north- 
ward toward the Canadian frontier. They passed the fiats 
and stone hook in the outset of their journey. They com- 
menced their toils and dangers at the famous waterfall called 
the Cohoes, ten miles above Albany, where three rivers, 
uniting their streams into one, dash over a rocky shelf, and, 
falling into a gulf below with great violence, raise clouds of 
mist bedecked with splendid rainbows. This was the Rubi- 
con which they had to pass before they plunged Into pathless 
woods, engulfing swamps, and lakes the opposite shores of 
which the eye could not reach." 

Such was the manner of life and trade In which the sons 
of Robert Livingston w^ere brought up, and In which they 
acquired a hardy constitution, goodly sunburnt looks, and 
that acuteness for which In other paths of life they were 
afterward marked. Philip, after his marriage, studied law 
and was admitted a member of the New York bar, 31 De- 
cember, 1 7 19. Of his prominence In Provincial affairs we 
have already spoken. 

His brother, Robert, the owner of Clermont, is thus de- 
scribed by his grandson, Edward Livingston : 

" Mis ficrure was tall and somewhat bent, but not emaciated 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 313 



by age, which had marked, but not disfigured, a face once 
remarkable for its regular beauty of feature, and still beam-, 
ing with the benevolence and intelligence that had always 
illuminated it. He marked the epoch at which he retired 
from the world by preserving its costume — the flowing well- 
powdered wig, the bright brown coat with large cuffs and 
square skirts, the cut velvet waistcoat with ample flaps, and 
the breeches scarcely covering the knee, the silk stockings 
rolled over them with embroidered clocks, and shining 
square-toed shoes fastened near the ankle with small em- 
bossed gold buckles. These were retained in his service not 
to affect a singularity, but because he thought it ridiculous at 
his time of life to allow the quick succession of fashion. 

" He always rose at five in the morning, and read without 
ceasing until near breakfast. The year before his death he 
learned the German tongue and spoke it fluently. On the 
breaking out of the war he was in raptures. In beginning 
with the Bostonians, he said, they had taken the bull by the 
horns. His sanguine temper made him expect with confi- 
dence our independence. He seemed to begin life again, his 
eye had all the fire of youth, and I verily believe the batde 
of Bunker Hill, of which such a disastrous report was made, 
was his death. He took to his bed immediately, lay a week 
without pain, and died." 

In connection with Robert Livingston's devotion to the 
cause of Independence, it may be remarked that he had 
anticipated the event for a long time. 

It is related of him that upon one occasion at Clermont, 
after a discussion upon this subject with his son, his grand- 
son, and Richard Montgomery, who married his grand- 
daughter, Jannet Livingston, he exclaimed, "It is intolerable 
that a continent like America should be governed by a little 
island three thousand miles away. America must and will 



3H 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



be independent ! My son, you will not live to see it ; Mont- 
gomery, you may ; Robert" — turning- to his grandson — "you 
will." 

His words came true. Montgomery was killed at the 
assault on Quebec in 1775. and his son, prominent in Revo- 




GEN. RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 



lutionary affairs, died just before independence was achieved ; 
whilst his grandson, Robert R. Livingston, who married Mary 
Stevens, was one of the leaders in those troublous times. 

We have spoken but incidentally as yet of Clermont. 

"There," says its historian. '' Robert R. Living"ston, Chancel- 
lor, was born, and after his marriage he built a mansion for him- 
self a little south of the old Manor House. His zeal in the Re- 



CLERMONT AND THE LI VINGS TONS. 3 1 5 

publican cause at the opening of the Revolution made him an 
arch rebel in the estimation of the British ministry and army 
in America. 

Robert R. Livingston was bitterly opposed to the Stamp 
Act. The "gentle Robert R. Livingston," says Bancroft, 
"had in the summer of the previous year (1764), on receipt 
of the news of the intention of the English Parliament to 
tax the Colonies, declared that ' It appears plainly that these 
duties are only the beginning of evils. The stamp duty, they 
tell us, is deferred till they see whether the Colonies will take 
the yoke upon themselves and offer something else as certain. 
They talk, too, of a land-tax, and to us the ministry appears 
to have run mad.' " 

He apparently anticipated a general resistance to these 
new taxes, for he added, "We in New York shall do as 
well as our neighbors. The God of heaven, whom we serve, 
will sanctify all things to those who love him and strive to 
serve him." 

His biographer continues : " Judge Livingston, whose liberal 
opinions, and whose determined opposition to any attempt to 
increase the prerogative of the Crown at the expense of the 
liberty of the people of New York, were well known, was 
elected by the Committee of Correspondence for that Colony 
to be their chairman ; and as such he attended with his col- 
leagues the Congress which met at New York in October, 
1765, in response to a circular issued by the Massachusetts 
House of Assembly. This Congress, known in history as the 
Stamp Act Congress, consisted of twenty-eight delegates 
from nine of the Colonies. The New York delegates were 
Robert R. Livingston, John Cruger, PhilijD Livingston, William 
Boyan, and Leonard Lespinward." 

The Congress was formally opened on the 7th of October 
in the City Hall, and after eleven days' debate it agreed upon 



o 



16 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



a Declaration of Rio-hts. and ordered it to be inserted in the 
journals. In this Declaration, while expressing "the warmest 
sentiments of affection and dut}* to the king." they claimed 
"all the inherent rights and privileges of natural-born sub- 
jects within the kingdom of Great Britian ; and they affirmed 
that it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a people, and 
one of the undoubted ricrhts of Enoflishmen. that taxes cannot 
be imposed on them without their own consent, given per- 
sonally or through their representatives ; that the colonists 
could not be represented in the House of Commons, and 
could be represented only in their respective Legislatures. 
They declared that the trial by jur)- is the inherent and 
inalienable right ot ever}- British subject in these Colonies : 
and they arraigned the recent Acts of Parliament as having a 
manifest tendency to subvert the rights and liberties of the 
people." 

Judge Livingston took an active part in the deliberations 
of this Congress, and at the end of a long letter to his aged 
father — with whom he was in the habit of corresponding on 
ever}- matter oi public importance, however occupied his time 
might be — he writes : " See the three great points we have to 
contend for, and of what importance they are : trials by juries, 
a right to tax ourselves, and the reducing Admiralty Courts 
within the proper limits. If you. sir. consider my situation, 
you will excuse m}- not writing to you before. Yesterday I 
had the whole Congress to dine with me. In one place or 
another we dine together ever}- day : so that besides business, 
this engrosses much time. I am now obliged to drive my 
pen over this as fast as I can." 

Unfortunatel}-. the debates of this Congress have not been 
preserved ; but in a discussion which ensued on some of the 
members pleading as the foundation of their liberties charters 
from the Crown, it is recorded by Bancroft that " Robert 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 317 

R. Livinorston of Xew York, ' the croodness of whose heart 
set him above prejudices, and equally comprehended al] 
mankind.' would not place the hope of America on that 
foundation." 

" He was," says a recent sketch, '' a member of the com- 
mittee appointed by Congress to prepare the Declaration of 
Independence, and would no doubt have signed that immortal 
document had he not been absent attending the provincial 
convention of Xew York. He helped to draw up the Empire 
State's constitution, and was its tirst chancellor, administerinof 
the oath of ofhce when Washington was inaugurated as Presi- 
dent of the United States. Later, as minister to France, he 
was largely influential in procuring the famous Louisiana 
purchase for the United States. On his return to America 
he was presented by Xapoleon, whose warm friendship he 
enjoyed, with a snuff-box containing the emperor's miniature 
bv Isabev. Chancellor Livingston was a friend to science, 
and became especially interested in the application of steam 
to navigation." 

He was also much interested in the fine arts, and became 
one of the founders of the American Academy of Fine Arts 
in Xew York City. 

When, in the fall of 1777. General \^aughan at the head 
of the royal troops went up the Hudson on a marauding 
expedition to produce a diversion in favor of Burgoyne. then 
environed by the Americans at Saratoga, he proceeded up 
the river as far as Clermont, and. having failed to accom- 
plish important results, burnt Livingston's new house and 
the old Manor House adjoining, where his widowed mother 
resided, and then retreated to Xew York, after hearing 
of the bad news, to them, from Saratoga. Mrs. Livings- 
ton immediately alter built another mansion house upon 
the site of the old home, usino- the same side walls, which 



3l8 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



were of stone, and which remained firmly standing, to rebuild 
upon. A locust tree, still standing on the lawn at Clermont, 
is shown, whose limbs were removed by a cannon-ball fired 
at the house from a British vessel before a landino- was made 
by the troops. This house is now occupied by a grandson 
of the Chancellor, Mr. Clement Livingston This man- 
sion, still standing, is most beautifully situated, and, like all the 
fine villas of this neighbor ood, commands a splendid view of 
the river and the always cranging legendary Kaatsbergs. It 
was described as long age as 1812 as one of the most com- 
modious houses in the State, having a river front of 104 feet 
and a depth of 91 feet, and built in the form of a letter H ; 
consisting of a main body of two stories and four pavilions, 
in one of which the Chancellor had a fine library of over 4000 
well-chosen volumes. It was furnished in that olden time 
with furniture and tapestries imported expressly for it from 
France by the Chancellor." 

His silver service was also magnificent, and said to have 
been worth at least from ;^20,ooo to |;3o,ooo. The centre 
piece was valued at $3000. The house is built in the 
French style of architecture, and has on three sides of it one 
of the most extensive lawns in this country. Downing thus 
describes this fine place : 

" On the banks of the Hudson, the show place of the last 
age was the still interesting Clermont, then the residence of 
Chancellor Livingston. Its level or gently undulating lawn, 
a mile or more in length, the rich native woods, and the long 
vistas of planted avenues, added to its fine water view, ren- 
dered this a noble place. The mansion, the green-houses, 
and the gardens show something of the French taste in 
design, which Mr. Livingston's long residence abroad at the 
time when that mode was popular no doubt led him to adopt. 
The finest specimens of the yellow locusts in America are 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 3^9 



now Standing upon the pleasure-grounds here. One of them 
measures sixteen feet in circumference, and most all are very 
large trees and form one of the many beauties of this fine 
old place. 

"In this house and upon these grounds was the grand re- 
ception given to La Fayette upon his last visit to this country 
in 1824, when the lawn for half a mile was crowded with 
people, and the waters in front -• ere white with vessels 
freighted with visitors from the neighboring counties ; and all 
the cups, plates, ladies' gloves, and slippers bore the image 
or name of La Fayette." 

From almost the earliest days of New York, down to the 
middle of the present century, the Livingstons held, with their 
kinsmen, the balance of power in their Colony and State, and 
even now their name carries weight where politics are not so 
extreme. As a race, for many generations, simply by their 
great mind-power and inherited and increasing wealth, they 
acquired many of the highest offices within the gift of the 
people, and in such offices they acquitted themselves with a 
singular ability and frequently without reproach. 

In social life in New York their influence has been strongly 
felt for nearly two centuries, and American art and letters 
owe them much more than almost any other family in that 
State. 

Such was the Clermont of loner ao-o, and such its builders 
and the founders of the great Manor of Livingston. 

Of those who in later days were born to the name, and of 
those who served their country by conspicuous services, it is 
not within the scope of this sketch to more than barely mention. 
Their lives have been told by others, and well told, but not 
overestimated. Of the descendants of Philip Livingston there 
is, perhaps, not much to relate. Robert, the eldest son of Philip 
and third Lord of the Manor, lived to see the boundaries 



320 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



of his great estate encroached upon by the government of 
Massachusetts. 

Robert Livingston's three brothers — Peter \^an Brugh, 
Philip, and William — were merchants in New York ; the first- 
named being owner of a large sugar bakery there. Peter 
also took an active part in America's Independence, and was 
president of the first Provincial convention. 

Philip, the second brother, was a Signer of the Declaration 
of Independence and one of the first delegates to the Conti- 
nental Congress, and General Washinorton held a council of 
war at his mansion on Brooklyn Heights before the retreat 
from Long Island. He was instrumental in the commence- 
ment of three institutions yet in active existence : King's 
College, now Columbia Universit)- ; the New York Society 
Library ; and the New York Hospital. 

William Livingston, the fourth brother, was the famous 
"war governor" of New Jersey and the owner of Liberty 
Hall near Elizabethtown, the theatre of some notable events 
during the Revolution. This mansion was several times 
visited by the British, who attempted to make the governor 
prisoner and threatened to burn the house. 

"When Alexander Hamilton came to New York from the 
West Indies a poor and almost friendless boy," writes a mem- 
ber of the family, "he was welcomed at Liberty Hall, to which 
he went with a letter of introduction to its proprietor, and was 
aided with advice and practical assistance." 

John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States, was mar- 
ried at Liberty Hall to Sarah Van Brugh Livingston, the 
governor's daughter, and a famous beauty of the State in 
her time. 

In a sketch of New York society JNIrs. Burton Harrison 
thus mentions the Jays : 

" Their town-house in lower Broadway, a three-stor)' dwell- 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



321 



ing substantially built of hewn stone, more than any other of 
its class caught and held the perfume of the old New York 
regime. In its pleasant rooms again and again assembled all 
the gay and gallant folk. 

" For some years before the national Constitution gave to 
America a President, Mr. Jay had been Secretary for Foreign 




WILLIAM LIVINGSTON, (iOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY. 



Affairs, an office entailing upon him the continual exercise of 
hospitality to the diplomats and the members of Congress in 
New York. Of his wife, in the full bloom of her remarkable 
I beauty, two pictures remain. One, with the tour and wreath 
of roses, is a miniature made in Paris ; and the other is a pro- 
file from a portrait by Robert Edge Pine, with the gypsy hat 



322 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



and milkmaid simplicity of dress made fashionable among 
gj'cindes dames by Marie Antoinette. Like that hapless sove- 
reign, too, Mrs. Jay had the wonderful complexion described 
by Mme. Vigee Lebrun at her ' despair ' in attempting to 
portray the queen Mrs. Jay was said indeed so to re- 




SARAH VAN llKlcai 1,1\' INGSTON, WIFK ( )F Jt.lIN lAV, 1111- cHIKK JUSTICK. 

semble Marie Antoinette as to be once mistaken for her by 
the audience of a theatre in Paris, who, on the entrance of 
the American beauty, arose to do her homage." 

During Washington's residence in New York at the time 
of his first term the Jays and Livingstons frequently enter- 
tained the President and Madam Washington in a manner 
that caused the strict Republicans to grumble somewhat. 
In return Washington invited them to his wife's levees and 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 323 

asked them to dinner. Regarding these same dinners there 
was at the time some difference of opinion, even by those - 
who attended, but it is to be feared that the poHtical views 
of the several guests had overmuch to do with the accounts 
of such formal affairs. For instance, William Maclay writes 
in his Journal, under date of January 14, 1790: "Dined 
this day with the President. It was a great dinner — all 
in the taste of high life. I considered it as a part of my 
duty as a Senator to submit to it, and am glad it is over. 
The President is a cold, formal man, but I must declare that 
he treated me with great attention. I was the first person 
with whom he drank a glass of wine. I was often spoken 
to by him. Yet he knows how rigid a republican I am." 
On March 4th succeeding this " rigid republican " again 
dined with Washington, on which occasion he says : " Dined 
with the President of the United States. It was a dinner 
of dignity. All the Senators were present and the Vice- 
President. I looked often around the company to find the 
happiest faces. Wisdom, forgive me if I wrong thee, but 
I thought folly and happiness most nearly allied. The Pres- 
ident seemed to bear in his countenance a settled aspect of 
melancholy. No cheering ray of convivial sunshine broke 
through the cloudy gloom of settled seriousness. At every 
interval of eating or drinking he played on the table with 
a fork or knife, like a drumstick." 

The latter incident has been quoted by recent writers 
with a view, apparently, of attributing to Washington a want 
of good breeding or a lack of a complete knowledge of the 
manners and customs of that "respectable company" which, 
as the President himself informs us, was accustomed to attend 
Madam Washington's levees. 

A somewhat just estimate, however, of these criticisms 
of Mr. Maclay mav be arrived at from the following extract 



324 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 

from the same gentleman's yoiirnal. The entry refers to 
an entertainment held in Philadelphia: "This was levee day, 
and I accordingly dressed and did the needful. It is an idle 
thing, but what is the life of men but folly? — and this is 
perhaps as innocent as any of them, so far as respects the 
persons acting. The practice, however, considered as a 
feature of royalty, is certainly anti-republican. This certainly 
escapes nobody. The royalists glory in it as a point gained. 
Republicans are borne down by fashion and a fear of being 
charged with a want of respect to General Washington. If 
there is treason in the wish, I retract it, but w^ould to God 
this same General Washington were in heaven ! We would 
not then have him brousfht forward as the constant cover to 
every unconstitutional and irrepublican act." 

After Washington's illness in June, 1790, some of the 
public men of New York City, the Livingstons and others, 
got up a fishing-party for him, and we read in the Pennsylvania 
Packet, in a despatch from New York, that "Yesterday after- 
noon [June 9] the President of the United States returned 
from Sandy Hook and the fishing banks, where he had been for 
the benefit of the sea air, and to amuse himself in the delight- 
ful recreation of fishing. We are told he has had excellent 
sport, having himself caught a great number of sea-bass 
and black-fish — the weather proved remarkably fine, which, 
together with the salubrity of the air and wholesome exercise, 
rendered this little voyage extremely agreeable, and cannot 
fail, we hope, of being very serviceable to a speedy and com- 
plete restoration of his health." 

Henry Brockholst Livingston, the governor's son, was a 
brave officer in the Revolution and afterward an eminent 
lawyer, and finally became a Justice of the Supreme Court 
of New York, and an Associate Justice of the United States 
Supreme Court. 



CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



325 



To return to the Clermont branch of the family, Judge 
Robert R. Livingston, who married Margaret Beckman, was, 
as before noted, a member of the Stamp Act Congress and 
prominent in other ways. 




EDWARD LIVINGSTON, MAYOR OF NEW YORK. 



Chancellor Livingston is so well known as to need but 
little further comment here. 

When an invitation was extended to the States to set up 
statues to their greatest Revolutionary heroes in the rotunda 
of the National Capitol, one of those selected by New York 
was Chancellor Livingston. The Chancellor, it will be re- 
membered, administered the oath of office when Washing- 



326 CLERMONT AND THE LIVINGSTONS. 



ton was first inaugurated as President. He was greatly 
interested in science, and was associated with Fulton in the 
first steamboat — the Clermont, named after the Livingston 
home and first launched on the Hudson River, As a lawyer 
he had few equals, and his eloquence was so great that 
Franklin once observed that he was " the Cicero of Amer- 
ica." The brothers of the Chancellor were all men of ability, 
Henry B. Livingston, a colonel in the Continental forces, was 
a close friend of La Fayette ; whilst Edward, a member of 
Congress and mayor of New York, unfortunate in earlier 
life, removed to New Orleans, where he acquired fame and 
fortune. 

There have been other members of the family almost 
equally prominent with those we have mentioned in this 
imperfect sketch, but their lives have been so fully written 
of and their good work so thoroughly recorded that it is 
needless to refer to them here. 



THE LIVINGSTONS OF THE MANOR OF LIVINGSTON. 327 



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THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



The Carroll Chapel, 

Doughoregan Mano r, Maryland. 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



If the planting of Ulster, and the iron rule which marked 
the policy of James Stewart the First in dealing with all Ire- 
land, cut off the liveli- 
hood of some hundreds 
of Irishmen, the acces- 
sion of the Second James 
of the Stew^art name ex- 
tended to a larger num- 
ber of the same race an 
apparently easy path to 
advancement and ulti- 
mate fortune at the Eng- 
lish Court and in the 
English camp. 

Amongst those who 
were quick to obtain 
recognition by the be- 
stowal of semi - public 
office was one Charles 
O'Carroll (commonly 
called Carroll), the son 
of one Daniel O'Carroll 
of Litterluna. and an 

attorney of the Inner Temple, London, who became the 
trusted secretary of Lord Powys. Concerning the ancestry 
of the Carrolls of Carrollton, the descendants of the young 

.385 




CARROI,], ARMS. 



336 THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 

barrister above referred to, and those other Carrolls of IMar)-- 
land nearly alHed to each other in blood, there are contlictino- 
accounts. 

As a preface to this sketch it is proposed to give, in brief, 
the definite statements of several historians, together with 
what is believed to be the most trustworthy record, 

Hanson, in his Old Kent of Maryland, says : 

"Among the leading and most prominent citizens of Mary- 
land during the Revolution were the three distinguished rep- 
resentatives of the ancient Carroll family — viz. Charles Car- 
roll, barrister, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, and Rev. John 
Carroll, D. D., who were descended from Daniel Carroll and 
his wife, Dorothy, daughter of Kenedy and ^largaret O'Bryen, 
daughter of More Carroll of Ely and O'Neil, whose mother 
was the daughter of the Earl [Duke ?] of Argyle in the High- 
lands of Scotland. The first authentic source and recognized 
authority of the present day we have of the Carroll family is 
that of Sir Bernard Burke, the compiler of the great Eno-- 
lish Peerage, and, by virtue of his office, the ' Ulster King of 
Arms,' who says : ' Kean, third son of Olioll Olum, King of 
Munster in the third century, was ancestor of the great house 
of Carroll. His descendants, Clabhat, gave the name of Car- 
roll to his posterity. 

" 'The territory of Ely comprised the present Barony of 
Lower Ormond, County Tipperary, with the Barony of Clon- 
lisk and part of Ballybrit in the King's County, extending to 
the Slieve Bloom Mountains on the borders of the Queen's 
County. ■" 

"'The Carr(5r]s, as Princes and Lords of Ely, were very 
powerful from the twelfth to the sixteenth century.' " 

A pedigree contained in ¥^e2it\ng's, History of Ireland com- 
mences with Noah (of ark fame), and musters many distin- 
guished members of this famous Irish clan. 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 339 

Among others named is Daniel Carroll, King or Prince of 
Ely, who founded the famous Abbey of Newry in 1148, and 
likewise Cnocksingan Abbey (1182), of whom it is written in 
the chronicles of Erin that "he was a pious prince and left a 
glorious character behind him." 

From this amiable lord the pedigree is deduced through a 
number of generations to Carroll the Fourth, who, in 1490, 
founded the maenificent convent of Roscrea for the Francis- 
cans or Gray Friars, to which order he was deeply attached. 

This O' Carroll, we are told, married the daughter of one 
O'Dimsly, Lord of Clanmallia ; thence to Carroll the Fifth, 
*' whose daughters were all married to the prime nobility of 
the nation." 

The next chief married Sara O' Bryan, daughter of the 
Earl of Thurmond and niece of Lord Clare. The next 
j Carroll, mentioned in Hanson's pedigree and deduced from 
! Burke, espoused the Earl of Meath's daughter, and was, says 
', the above authority, father to Daniel Carroll, who married 
! Dorothy, daughter of Kenedy by Margaret O'Bryen, daughter 
1 of More Carroll of Ely, as above. 

I "This Daniel Carroll had twenty sons, whom he presented 
'in one troop of horse, 'all accoutred in habiliments of war,' to 
the Earl of Ormond, together with all his interest, for the ser- 
vice of King Charles the First. Many of these died in foreign 
service, having followed the hard fate of King Charles the 
Second. 

" rVom this Daniel's sons is presumed to have sprung all 
the different branches of the house of Carroll." 

The eldest son, Hanson continues, was Daniel Carroll, who 
had two sons : Charles and fohn. 

Charles married Clara Dunn, and had : Charles, John, 
and one dauofhter. This last Charles Carroll emig^rated to 
America about the beginning of the eighteenth century, and 



340 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



settled at Annapolis, Maryland, his brother John having been 
lost at sea. 

This Charles Carroll, the emigrant, married Dorothy Blake, 
and was the father of Charles Carroll, barrister-at-law. 

The above account of the genealogy of Charles Carroll, 
the barrister, is substantially correct, being proved by certain 




ENTRANCE TO DOUGHORECAN ; TREES PLANTED BY THE SIGNER. 

letters between Sir Daniel O'Carroll, a colonel in the service 
of Queen Anne, to the last-named Charles Carroll, where the 
various relationships and family properties are mentioned. 

The barrister, however, was not a very near kinsman to 
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, although they addressed each 
other as cousins. 

Of the first-mentioned family, so far as their Maryland his- 
tory goes, the following will suffice : 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



341 



" Dr. Charles Carroll, eldest son of Charles Carroll and 
Clara Dunn, was the first one of his branch of the family that 




ARCHBISHOP CARROLL OF MARYLAND. 



settled in America. He was the eldest son of the eldest 
branch of the great house of Carroll, known as the Ely 
O'Carroll, as is shown by his armorial bearings. He accu- 
mulated an immense landed estate, among the largest, per- 



342 THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



haps the very largest, in the Province of Maryland, consist- 
inof of lar^e tracts of land on the Eastern Shore ; in Frederick 
County ; in Anne Arundel County ; in and near the City of 
Baltimore, including 'Carroll's Island,' 'Mount Clare' (the 
property of James Carroll) ; 'The Plains,' near Annapolis; 
'Clare Mont' (the residence of Hon. Carroll Spence, late 
Minister to Turkey); and 'The Caves,' the residence of 
Gen. John Carroll. 

" Dr. Charles Carroll was active and prominent in the 
public affairs of the State, and in the sessions of 1738 was 
the representative of the City of Annapolis in the Legislature 
of Maryland." 

In religion this family of Carroll was Protestant, as appears 
by numerous letters extant. 

Dr. Charles Carroll married Dorothy Blake, daughter of 
Henry Blake and his wife, Henrietta Lloyd, daughter of 
Philemon Lloyd and Henrietta Maria Neale, and had : Charles 
Carroll, barrister. 

The second noted Carroll family in ^Maryland was that of 
the Rev. John Carroll, the Archbishop. 

In Life and Times of the Most Rev. Joiiii Carroll, h\ Shea, 
1888, is this statement regarding his ancestry- : 

" Notwithstanding penal laws and laws to prevent the 
immigration, especially of Irish Catholics, into the province 
of Maryland, a few arrived from time to time ; among them, 
soon after the commencement of the eighteenth century, was 
Daniel Carroll, son of Keane, a native of Ireland, but related 
by ties of consanguinity to the family of that name already 
prominent in the province. 

"He became a thriving merchant, and in time married 
Eleanor, the daughter of Henry Darnall of Woodyard, a lady 
who had received a finished education in Prance, and who 
displayed, in forming the character of her children, a mind 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 343 



enriched with piety and every accompHshment to fit her for 
the task." Who, precisely, was this Daniel, son of Keane 
Carroll, or how he was connected with the Carrollton family, 
we do not know. 

Of the Carrollton Carrolls there is a pedigree extant drawn 
up by Sir William Betham, one time Ulster King of Arms, and 
another by Burke, both of which are incorrect. 

In the yournal of the Royal Historical and Arclucological 
Association of Ireland, for October, 1883, No. 56 [Vol vi., 4th 
Series], will be found an article prepared by Frederick John 
O' Carroll, A. B., barrister-at-law, and entitled Stemmata Car- 
rollana, being the Trne Version of tJie Pedigree of Carroll of 
Carrollton, and correcting that en^oneously traced by Sir Wil- 
liam Betham, late Ulster King-ofarms. 

The genealogy in question begins with one Fionir, Prince 
of Ely, slain in the year 1205, and so down to Daniel Car- 
roll of Litterluna,''' who had four sons: Anthony, died 1724; 
Charles of the Inner Temple, London ; Thomas ; and John, 
who died in 1733. 

Charles Carroll, the second son, was the founder of his 
line in Maryland. 

The first reference that we can find of actual record con- 
cerning Charles Carroll, the emigrant, is on July iSth, 1688, 
being the date of his appointment by Lord Baltimore as his 
attorney-general for Maryland. The commission reads that 
Charles, absolute Lord Prop^>' of the Province of Maryland 
and Avalon, reposing "trust and confidence in our trusty and 
well-beloved Charles Carroll of the Inner Temple, London, 
have made, constituted, and appointed, and by these presents 
do make, him, the said Charles Carroll, our Attorney- 
General for and throughout our said Province of Mary- 

* This Daniel Carmll is by no means to lie confused with Daniel Caiioll, ancestor of 
Charles Carroll, father to the barrister. — ()' Hart's Irish Pedigrees, 3d ed., page 75. 



344 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



land." This commission was read in the Council October 
13th. 1688. 

It probably caused considerable comment and excitement. 
The people of Maryland had long been restive under the ex- 
isting government, and the appointment of Carroll, or indeed 
any new man to an office of profit, was well calculated to fan 
the flame that was already slowly but steadily reaching the 
proportion of a rebellion. 




TREE UNDER WHICH WASHINGTON IS SAID TO HAVE FREQUENTLY RESTED. 

Charles Carroll had probably brought the commission with 
him to Maryland, having received the appointment at the 
hands of Lord Powys ; he came to Maryland as the agent 
of Calvert, and he remained, through many difficulties, his 
devoted champion. 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 345 



In a letter dated from St. Mary's, Sept. 25th, 1689, he 
writes to his master retrardino- the rebelHon then hatchings 
with a view of excluding certain persons from control in the 
government. The inhabitants of Maryland, he says, "have 
taken upon themselves to declare your Lordship's charter 
forfeited, as your Lordship may see by their malitious decla- 
ration (which the Bearer will shew your Lordship). 

"They have further taken upon themselves to give Com- 
missions to Sheriffs and Justices of their own stamp, and con- 
stitute other officers both civill and military, utterly excluding 
not only all Roman Catholiques from bearing any office 
whatsoever (contrary to an express act of Assembly), but 
also all Protestants that refuse to joyne with them in the 
irregularities." 

A continued and very undiplomatic opposition to those 
who were enemies to Calvert or to his relio-ion was the 
means of brewing considerable trouble for Charles Carroll, 
and the feeling against him gradually increased. 

In March, 1692, he was arrested and imprisoned, among 
other things it being charged against him, in the deposition 
of one John Llewellin of St. Mary's County, " that Mr. Charles 
Carroll (did not long since) demand of the Deponent a copy 
of the Proceedings upon the Tryal & Condemnation of his 
Beer to make sport & laugh at in company where he should 
come, or words to the same Effect." 

On the 25th of March, 1693, Lional Copley, Esq., being 
Captain-General and Governor of Maryland, Charles^ Car- 
roll was still in charge of the Sheriff of St. Mary's County, 
" charg'd and accused for uttering several misterious & sedi- 
tious speeches in derogation to the present Government, 
scandalously reflecting upon, affronting and abusing- the 
same." 

A part of these troubles were doubtless because of his 



346 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



appointment, at the intervention of his old friend Lord Powys, 
to the office of Judge and Register of the Law Office, in place 
of Col. Henry Darnall. 

Notwithstanding this storm of unpopularity which at first 
assailed him, Charles Carroll seems to have outlived the 
attacks of his enemies, and ultimately acquired a most re- 
spectable fortune by the practice of law. 




lllE HALL OF THE MANUR HOL"SE. 



It was, it is claimed, the first Charles Carroll who built 
Doughoregan Manor House in 171 7. It is a fine specimen 
of colonial architecture, being only two stories in height, with 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



347 



wings, makinor the total length some three hundred feet. A 
wide panelled hall leads to the library on the right, where 




:HAKLES CARROLL OK CARROLLTON. 



Charles Carroll the Signer maintained headquarters when at 
this his favorite seat, and where the pictured faces of many 
I generations of Carrolls gaze down upon you from the ancient 



wans. 



To the rio;-ht of the hall is the dining-room, where 



348 



THE CAR ROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



many of the friends of the Signer were wont to be merry in 
the pleasant clays of yore. In the right wing is the chapel 
built by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, within which he lies 
buried. It is kept in fine repair by the present representative 
of the family, and service is often conducted therein. It is, 
perhaps, the only private chapel in the United States, where 
the wealthier classes have ever been slow to imitate England 
and the Continent in this respect. 




RECEPTION R 



Of the second Charles Carroll we know remarkably little. 

He lived, however, to see his son become a power in 
American politics, if not to observe the dawn of our Inde- 
pendence. 

The third Charles Carroll, "the Signer," widely known as 
"of Carrollton," a form he used in sio-ninpf documents and 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



349 



letters to distinguish him from his kinsman, Charles Carroll 
the barrister, of the Carrolls of the Caves, was born g.t 
Annapolis in 1737. In July, 181 6, Mr. Joseph Delaplaine, 
editor and publisher of the Repository, wrote to Mr. Carroll, 
thanking him for his consent to sit to Mr. King, the artist, 
for a portrait which Mr. Delaplaine desired to have, and ask- 
ing the aged survivor of those patriots who had signed the 
Declaration of Independence for a sketch of his life. 




STATE CHAMBER AND BED IX WHICH WASHINGTON SLEPT. 

Charles Carroll replied as follows : 
" Sir : " doughoregan, 21 Aug., 1816. 

"I received this day your letter of the 28th past and the 
first half volume of your Repository, for which I hope my 
agent, James Neilson in Baltimore, has accounted with your 
agent, Mr. Philson. 

" My letter of 6th instant in answer to Mr. King's of 29th 



350 THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



of July, informed him I should be in Baltimore about the 20th 
of December and remain there during- the winter, when 1 will 
sit to him for my portrait at anv place in that city he may 
appoint. 

"1 was born at Annapolis in v^eptember, i;^;;: on the 
iQth <^i next month 1 shall enter my Soth \"ear. 1 was sent 
by my father when about 1 1 years of age to St. Omers for 
my education, where I remained about 6 years ; from thence 
I went, by his direction, to a college at Rheims, and after 
remaining at that college a year 1 went to the College of 
Louis le Grand at Paris ; in all of these colleges the students 
were taught by the Jesuits. 

"In 175S or 1759 I went to England and studied law in 
the Inner lemple 5 or 4 years, not with a professional view : 
and returned to my native country in 1705, after an absence 
oi. about 18 years. 

" On the breaking out o\ our re\ oluiicMi 1 took a decided 
part in the support of the rights oi this countrv ; was elected 
a member oi the Committee of Safety established by the 
legislature ; was a member of the Convention which formed 
the Constitution of this State. The journals oi Congress will 
show you how long I was a member of that body during the 
revolution. 

"With Dr. Franklin and Mr. Samuel Chase I was ap- 
pointed a Commissioner to Canada. 

"I was elected a member of the Senate at the hrst session 
of Congress under the present Confederation : — though well 
acquainted with General Washington — ;u"id 1 tiatter nnself in 
his conhdence, — few letters passed between us ; one, having 
reference to the opposition made to the Treatv concluded bv 
Mr. Ja\-, has been repeatedly published in the newspapers, 
and perhaps you may have seen it : that letter is no longer in 
my possession. 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 353 



" My grandfather came to Maryland in the year preceding 
the revolution in England, terminated by the dethronement 
of James the Second, My mother was daughter of Mr. 
Clement Brooke, a gentleman of respectable family in Prince 
George's County. I have given you, sir, in compliance with 
your request, all the incidents of my public life and of my 
education, and remain, with respect, 

" Y*" most hum. Serv't, 

" Charles Carroll of Carrollton." 

Thus briefly, but with remarkable distinctness, does he 
give us an account of a life full of usefulness to his country- 
men. The letter speaks of his friendship with Washington, 
and hints at an intimacy which the absence of letters, ex- 
plained in the next sentence, has hitherto been somewhat 
under-estimated. It is well known that Washington was a 
frequent and welcome guest at Doughoregan Manor, and the 
state bedchamber which he occupied during these visits and 
the very bed in which he slept are still honored by being 
pointed out to the visitor, and the remains of the ancient tree 
under which the first President was accustomed to rest during 
his pedestrian tours around the immense domain are still stand- 
ing, tenderly cared for, in Doughoregan Park. 

The absence of any considerable correspondence between 
Washington and Carroll is not so surprising, even consider- 
ing Washington's letter-writing habit, when we consider that 
Mount Vernon and Doughoregan are not so many miles 
apart, and that Charles Carroll was a more frequent visitor 
at the former place than Washington at the latter. 

"In person," says one of his biographers, "Mr. Carroll 
was slight and below the middle size ; his face was strongly 
marked ; his eye quick and piercing ; and his countenance 
expressive of energy and determination. His manners were 

23 



354 THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



ven- affable and graceful, and in all the elegancies and ob- 
servances of polite societ>- few men were his superiors - 

^ Despite Mr. Carroll's modest account of his career as 
given m the letter above quoted, he was. doubdess. one of 
the most distinguished Mar>-landers of his dav. His political 
career commenced shordy after his return fmm abroad and 
he at once achieved marked disdncdon as the brightest and 
ablest political pamphleteer of that dav: and -in a contro 
versy. concerning • setding fees by proclamadon.' with Daniel 
i^ulany. he won a reputadon for wisdom and profound reason- 
ing which placed him in die first rank of the champion, of 
treedom and decided his career for life." 

He ^^^s a member of the Committee of Correspondence 
for the Provmce of Maryland in i:;4: in the next vear he 
was one of the Obsenadon Committee for Ann Arundel 
Council. He was also a member of the Board of W^ar 
whilst in Congress, where his ser^-ices were considerable 

Charles Carroll redred from polidcal life in 1804 On 
April 23d, 1S2;. he was elected a member of the first Board 
ot Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio R. R. Co.. and on 
July 4. 1S2S. laid the foundadon-stone of that road 

He died November loth. 1S32. in the ninetA'-sixth vear of 
his age. being the last sur^-ivor of the Declamdon of Inde- 
pendence. 

In June. i,-6S. Mr. Carroll had married Mar^■. dau.^hter 
01 Heno; Darnall the Younger, and left several children 
All 01 his daughters married well. The eldest, Pauline 
became the wife of an Englishman named Richard Caton' 
whose only fault, it is said, was that he was poor: but this 
delect was quickh- remedied from the riches of her father 
whose fortune had increased rapidly during and after the 
Kevolution. 

Mrs. Caton is said to have been one of the most charmino- 



THE a4RROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



355 



women oi her day. and her four celebrated daughters appear 
to have equalled her in beaut}-, being called the "American 
Graces."' 




They, in turn, made excellent matches. Louisa Caton 
became the wife of Sir Felton Bathurst Her\ey. aide-de-camp 
to the Duke of Wellington on the field of Waterloo. 

Man.- Caton married, first Robert Patterson (the brother 



356 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



of Elizabeth Patterson, who became the wife of Jerome Bona- 
parte) ; and secondly, the Marquis of Wellesley, Lord Lieu- 




HARRIET CHEW, WIFE OF CHARLES CARROLL THE SECOND. 

tenant of Ireland in 1825. Three years after her sister 
Louisa, who had also become a widow, married the Marquis 
of Carmarthen, eldest son of the sixth Duke of Leeds, who 
succeeded to the latter title soon after. 



THE CAR ROLLS OF MARYLAND. 357 



Elizabeth Caton, another sister, married Baron Stafford, 
and, hke her titled sisters, died childless ; but a fourth sister, 
Emily Lee Carroll, became the wife of John McTavish, and 
left issue. The second daughter of Charles Carroll became 
the wife of Robert Goodloe Harper in 1802. 

Charles Carroll the Younger married Harriet, daughter 
of Benjamin Chew, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, the mar- 
riage taking place at Cleveden, the Chew House, at German- 
town, Philadelphia, in 1 799. They have many descendants ; 
the representative of the family is John Lee Carroll, ex-Gov- 
ernor of Maryland, who resides at Doughoregan Manor. 

We have spoken of the handsome private chapel which 
the Signer caused to be erected in Doughoregan house, and 
it now remains for us to mention a building of a religious 
character which he founded near his home — namely, the Col- 
lege of St. Charles, concerninof which the following has been 
handed to the writer : 

"St. Charles' College owes its origin to the enlightened 
zeal of the Most Rev. Dr. Marechal, third Archbishop of Bal- 
timore, and to the wise generosity of the venerable Charles 
Carroll, one of the Signers of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. Several attempts had been previously made to create 
a preparatory ecclesiastical seminary, but all these institutions 
had one by one swerved from their original purpose and failed. 
When, therefore. Dr. Marechal had, with Mr. Carroll, decided 
upon the foundation of the new college it was stipulated that 
its exclusive object was to train candidates for the priesthood ; 
and in the college charter, granted at Mr. Carroll's request 
by the Legislature of Maryland, it was enacted that the ' only 
purpose ' of the college was the education of pious young men 
of Catholic persuasion for the ministry of the Gospel. The 
charter further entrusted the leiral administration of the col- 
lege to five trustees, who must be citizens of the United States 



358 THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



and, according to the express intentions of the founder, mem- 
bers of the Society of St. Sulpice. 

"As a beginning for the college Mr. Carroll conveyed to 
the trustees a sum of $5349 and 253 acres from his own 

domain It received at the same time the name of St. 

Charles, after both its illustrious founder and the holy Arch-, 
bishop of Milan. The corner-stone was blessed by Arch- 
bishop Whitfield on July nth, 1831 ; the venerable Signer 
also taking a prominent part in the ceremony. He always 
considered the foundation of the college one of the most 
useful achievements of his remarkable career." 

The Carroll family are still patrons of the institution. 

We have yet to speak of the death of Charles Carroll at 
his beloved Doughoregan. "A more beautiful old age," 
writes a historian of the Manor, "no man ever enjoyed. He 
had health, cheerfulness, respect, love, abundance of grat- 
itude ; above all, contentment and patience. The devotion 
paid to him was that which we read of in the Old Testament ; 
and, really, he looked like a venerable patriarch. But death 
came at last to summon him to the bar of eternal judgment. 
He had been for a long time declining from ossification of his 
heart and the debility of old age ; but his mind was as un- 
clouded as it was in his earlier days. But daily he grew 
worse, and his end was evidently approaching. From an 
eye-witness the following account of the last scene is given : 

"It was toward sundown, in the month of November, and 
very cold weather. In a large room — his bedroom — a semi- 
circle was formed before a great open fireplace. The ven- 
erable old man was in an easy-chair; in the centre, before 
him, a table with blessed candles, an antique silver bowl of 
holy water, and a crucifix ; by his side the priest — Rev. John 
C. Chaunce, President of St. Mary's College, and afterward 
Bishop of Natchez — in his rich robes, about to offer him the 



THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 359 



last rites of the Holy Catholic Church. On each side of his 
chair knelt a daughter and grandchildren, with some friends, 
making a complete semicircle ; and, just in the rear, three or 
four old negro servants, all of the same faith, knelt in the 
most venerating manner. The whole assemblage made up a 
picture never to be forgotten. The ceremony proceeded. 
The old gendeman had been for a long time suffering from 
weak eyes, and could not endure the proximity of the lights 
immediately before him. His eyes were three-fourths kept 
closed, but he was so familiar with the forms of this solemn 
ceremony that he responded and acted as if he saw everything 
passing around. At the moment of offering the Host he leaned 
forward without opening his eyes, yet responsive to the word 
of the administration of the holy offering. It was done with 
so much intelligence and grace that no one could doubt for a 
moment how fully his soul was alive to the act. 

" As soon as it was over his medical attendant, knowing 
that he had been many hours without food, went to him and 
remarked that he must be very much exhausted, and offered 
some food. In the most gentle and intelligent manner he 
replied : 

"'Thank you, doctor, not just now; this ceremony is so 
deeply interesdng to the Chrisdan that it supplies all the 
wants of Nature. I feel no desire for food.' 

'Tn a few moments more one of his granddaughters and 
the doctor lifted him from the chair and placed him in his bed. 
He said to them : 

" 'Thank you ; that is nicely done.' 

" His daughter, Mrs. Caton, in her great anxiety for his 
sinking state, gave the doctor a glass of jelly, and asked him 
to insist upon her father's taking some of it. The doctor 
did so, but the padent again declined with the most perfect 
politeness. The glass was put aside, but the anxious daughter 



360 THE CARROLLS OF MARYLAND. 



could, not restrain her feelings, and, taking it up, went to the 
bedside and said : 

" ' Papa, you must take it, as the doctor says you ought to 
do so.' 

" With quick and decided change of manner, he said : 

" ' Mary, put it down ; I want no food.' 

" She did so. He soon fell into a doze, and seemed to 
sleep for an hour, but was restless, and declined into what 
seemed an uneasy position. His granddaughter, Mrs. Mc- 
Tavish, his ever-watchful nurse, requested the doctor, who 
was still with them, to lift him to a more comfortable place. 
At that time he did not weigh one hundred pounds. The 
doctor did so, and, seeing who it was, he remarked : 

" 'Thank you, doctor.' 

" After this he was silent, and took no food, and his pulse 
evidently indicated the gradual decline of life. It was after 
midnight, the hour not exactly remembered, when the vital 
spark went out without a struggle, he breathing as calmly 
as if falling into a gentle sleep. Thus departed one of the 
most refined, sincere, true gentlemen of the old school of 
Maryland." 



THE CARROLLS OF DOUGHOREGAN MANOR AND 
CARROLLTON. 

Arms : Gti. hvo lions ramp, combatant or, supporting a sword point uptvards ppr., pom- 
fuel and hilt or. Crest : Cm the stump of an oak tree sprottting, a hawk rising, all ppr., 
billed or. 

I. FiONiR, Prince or Chief of Ely, slain in battle 1205, had issue : 
II. Teige, Chief of Ely, who had (with Maobmanaidh) a son : 

III. DoNAi., Chief of Ely, who settled at Litterluna, and had issue : 

IV. DONOUGH Dhearg, died 1306; Chief of Ely, who had issue : 

V. William Alainn (the Handsome), Chief of Ely, who had issue : 
VI. DoNOUGH, died 1377; Chief of Ely, who had issue : 
VII. RoDERic, who had a son : 
VIII. Daniel, who had a son : 
IX. RoDERiC, who had a son: 
X. DoNOUGH, who had a son : 
XI. Teige, who had a son : 
XII. DoNOUGH, who had a son : 
XIII. Daniel O'Carroll, who had a son : 
XIV. Anthony O'Carroll of Litterluna, who had a son : 

XV. Daniel O'Carroll of Litterluna, who had issue : 

1. Anthony of Lisheenboy in Co. Tipperary, whose will was proved 1724, having 

had issue : Daniel, Michael, James, a Captain in Lord Dongan's Regiment of 
Dragoons, from whom descends Alfred Ludlpw Carroll of New York, and 
Charles, whose will was proved 1724. 

2. Charles, of whom presently. 

3. Thomas. 

4. John, d. 1733. 

XVI. Charles Carroll (alias O'Carroll), second son of Daniel O'Carroll of Litterluna, 

was of the Inner Temple, London ; emigrated to Maryland, 1688 ; m. ; 

and dying in 1747, he left issue : 

XVII. Charles Carroll of Doughoregan .Manor, Howard County. Md., b. 1702; d. 
1782; .Vttorney-Ceneral of Maryland. He m. Elizabeth Brooke, and had a son: 

361 



362 CARROLLS OF DOUGHOREGAN MANOR. 



XVIlI. Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Md., b. 1737; d. 1832; Signer of the Declaration 
of Independence. He m., in 176S, Mary, daughter of Henry Darnall. Jr., and 
d. 1833. He left issue : 

1. Charles Carroll, of whom presently. 

2. Mary, m. Richard Caton of Maryland. They had four daughters : (l) Marianne, 

who m., 1st, Robert Patterson; 2dly. Oct. 25, 1825, Richard Colley, Marquis 
of Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Gov. -Gen. of India, and elder 
brother of Arthur, Duke of Wellington. (2) Elizabeth, m. Baron Stafford. 
(3) Louisa Katherine, m. 1st, Sir Felton Bathhurst Hervey, Baronet ; 2dly, 
182S, Francis Godolphin D"Arcy. seventh Duke of Leeds. (4) Emily, m. 
John Mactavish, British Consul in Baltimore, father of Charles Carroll Mac- 
tavish, who married a daughter of tjen. Wintield Scott, U. S. A. 

3. Catherine, m. Gen. Robert Goodloe Harper of South Carolina, and had: (i) 

Charles, m. Miss Chafelle of South Carolina. (2) Robert, died at sea. (3) 
Emily. 

XIX. Col. Charles Carroll, only son of Charles Carroll the Signer, d. 1S61 ; in., 1799, 
Harriet Chew, daughter of Hon. Benjamin Chew, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, 
and had issue : 

1. Charles, of whom presently. 

2. Mary Sophia, b. 1804; d. at Philadelphia 1SS6; m. Richard H. Bayard, U. S. 

Senator from Delaware; d. at Philadelphia 1868. They had: (l) Mary 
Louisa, m., 1st, William Henry Beck, d. 1859; 2dly, Col. Manlio Battarina. 

(2) Caroline, m. Henry Baring Powell of Philadelphia; d. 1S52, and had: 
Mary de Vaux, wife of Rev. George Woolsey Pledge of Philadelphia; issue. 

(3) Elizal^eth, m. Col. Frederick Henry Rich of English armV. (4) Charles 
Carroll, U. .S. X. (^5) Richard Bassell, d. 1878; m., i860, Ellen Gilmor 
Howard, and had: Ellen IL, Richard II. (6) Harriet, m. Christian Bors 
of Norway; issue. (7) Louisa, m. Richard Ashhurst Bowie of Philadelphia; 
issue: Richard H. Bayard Bowie of Philadelphia. 

3. Louisa, d. 1870; m. Isaac Rand Jackson of Philadelphia, d. 1S42, and had: 

( 1 ) Harriet Carroll, who m. Leonard Douglas H. Currie of the English army ; 
issue. (2) Charles Carroll of New York, m. Minnie Coster; issue. (3) Os- 
wald of New York, m. Ella Willing. (4) Mary Ellen, m. Nalbro Frazier, Jr., 
of Philadelphia; issue: Louisa, Helena C. 

4. Harriet, m. John Lee of Needwood, Md., and had: (i) Mary LMgges, d. 1868; 

m. Dr. Jonathan Letterman, U. S. A. ; issue. (2) Dr. Charles Carroll of New 
York, m. Helen Parish of Philadelphia; issue. (3) Rev. Thomas L. Lee of 
Baltimore. 

5. Elizabeth, m. Dr. Aaron B. Tucker of Baltimore, Md., and had: (i) Charles 

Carroll, who m. Susan Howell, and had : John H., Charles H. (2) St. George. 

XX. Charles Carroll of Doughoregan Manor, Md., b. iSoi ; d. 1862 ;.m., 1825, 
Mary Digges, daughter of John Lee of Needwood, F"rederick Co., Md., and 
had issue : 
I. Charies of Doughoregan Manor, d. s. p. He m., 1S5S, Caroline, daughter of 
Judge Lucas P. Thompson of Staunton, \'a. 



CARROLLS OF DOUGHOREGAN MANOR. 3^3 



2. lolin I.ee of Douglioregan Manor, ex-Governor of Maryland. He m., 1st, 

1S56, Anita, daughter of Royal Phelps of New York; she d. 1S73. He m,, 
2dly, Mary Carter, daughter of Judge Lucas P. Thompson of Staunton, Va., 
and had : Philip Acosta. By his first wife he had : 
(i) Theodore Charles, m. Suzanne Bancroft. 

(2) Mary Louise, m. 8 Dec, 1886, Count Jean de Kergolay. 

(3) Royal Phelps of New York, m., 1891, Marion, daughter of Eugene Langdon. 
("4) Helen, a nun. 

(5) John Lee. 

(6) Anita, m., 14 Oct., 1886, Baron Louis La Grange. 

(7) Mary Irene, d. unm., 8 Nov., 1888. 

3. Louise, m. George Cavendish Taylor of England ; issue. 

4. Albert Henry, C. S. A., killed in battle 1862; m., 1858, Mary Cornelia, daughter 

of William George Read, and had: (i) Mary Sophia. (2) Mary Elinor. 
(3) Agnes. 

5. Robert Goodloe Harper of Pjaltimore, m., ist, Eleanor Thompson, d. s. ]). ; 2dly, 

1872, Mary D. Lee of Frederick Co., Md., and had: (i) Albert. (2) Charles. 

6. Helen Sophia, m., 1863, Charles Oliver O'Donnell of Baltimore, and had: (i) 

John. (2) Mary Acosta. (3) Aline. 

7. Mary, m. Dr. Elisee Acosta of Paris; issue. 

8. Thomas Lee of Baltimore. 



GR/EME PARK 



GrvEme Park, 

Yrar PhiJ.i.JrJf^Jnn. 



GR^ME PARK. 



Amidst the solemn Quaker tone pervading the affairs of 
the Province of Pennsylvania during the first quarter of the 
eighteenth century, the one 
lively color upon a very sea 
of drab canvas is the nine 
years' rule of that diplomatic 
baronet-gov-ernor, Sir William 
Keith. 

Keith, the heir to an empty 
Scotch title, was descended, 
through the renowned Keiths 
of Ludquahairn, from many 
of the nobility of North Brit- 
ain, his own family having 
been formerly rich and pow- 
erful, and at one time reck- 
oned amongst the greatest 
and proudest in the kingdom of Scotland. 

Sir William had been well educated by an uncle, and 
inherited much of the ability and aptitude for statesmanship 
which for ages had been a characteristic of his race and name. 
He was early in life appointed by good Queen Anne sur- 
veyor-general of the royal customs in the American Colonies, 
at a salary of five hundred pounds per annum — an income 
which he was sadly in need of at that time. During the first 
years of his enjoyment of this royal favor he spent many of his 




GR^ME BOOK-PI-ATE, 1 766. 



368 GR^ME PARK. 

days in the Colony of Virginia, where the refinement and gen- 
erous Hving of the wealthy planters and the beauty and intel- 
ligence of the Southern women were exceedingly to his taste. 

Descended from a family suspected, perhaps unjustly, 
of being partial to the fallen house of Stuart, the accession 
of the Hanoverian line to the throne cast Keith out of office, 
and threw him unceremoniously upon the tender mercies of 
the New World. He ultimately drifted northward to Phila- 
delphia, where his considerable learning, courtly bearing, and 
affable democratic manners soon won him numbers of friends 
among all classes. Having, shortly after this, through the in- 
fluence of his new acquaintances, secured the appointment of 
deputy-governor of the Province of Pennsylvania,''' it appears 
that he immediately brought his family from England, having 
borrowed in London sufficient funds for that purpose. 

The Keiths arrived at Philadelphia in a vessel commanded 
by one Captain Annis on the 31st of May, 171 7. At this 
time the governor's household consisted of his second wife, 
Lady Keith (Ann Newberry, widow of Robert Diggsf), aged 
then about forty-two years, her only daughter by her first hus- 
band, the fair Ann Diggs, only seventeen years old (afterward 

* It seems that when the local powers of Philadelphia decided, finally, to make the at- 
tempt to have Keith commissioned deputy-governor, that person was on the eve of returning 
to his well-beloved \'irginia, having, indeed, advanced so far as New Castle on the backward 
trip, at which town a letter recalling him for a conference with the Council was received. 

The letter of recommendation despatched by the Council to Hannah Penn, dated 25th 
of second month, 17 16, reads partly as follows : " It has been hinted to him that, seeing a 
change is necessary here, whether under you or the Crown, could he obtain this government 
it might in some measure countervail his disappointment. To be under an easy adminis- 
tration of government in America contributes highly to the subjects' happiness ; that we may 
be excused, we hope, if, from our acquaintance with this gentleman, we should wish to be 
particular of that ease under him which we-believe all men might promise themselves from 
his administration if happily entrusted with it." Signed by James Logan (in whose hand- 
writing it is), Robert Assheton, William Evans, Jasper Yeates, Richard Hill. Isaac Norris, 
Samuel Preston, and Jonathan Dickinson. 

"t" This Robert Diggs appears to have been a kinsman of the Diggs family of Virginia 
and of Dudley Diggs of Middlesex. 



GR^-EME PARK. 



369 

wife of Dr. Graeme), and his three sons: Alexander Henry, 
Robert, and William Keith. Another boy, James, was born 
at sea May loth whilst coming hither. 





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SIK WILLIAM KKITII. 



Governor Keith, who before his father's decease was fre- 
quently designated simply as the "honorable colonel," brought 
with him his young kinsman, a Scotch physician, named Thomas 
Graeme, at that time in his twenty-ninth year and still a gay 



24 



370 GR^ME PARK. 



bachelor. Dr. (irame, it is saitl, was born upon his ancestral 
estate of Balgowan, in Perthshire, Scotland, October 20, 1688. 
In social position and linea^i-e he was in every way the equal 
of Keith, but differed from him in the respect that, being- a 
prudent, canny Scot, he was never during the entire course 
of his long life harassed by debt. 

Dr. Grcume was the son of Thomas Gra?me and Anna, 
daughter of Sir James Drummond of Machany, descended 
lineally from iliat Sir William Grasme of Kincardine who was 
one of tlu? commissioners entrusted with certain peace nego- 
tiations with England in the hfteenth century. Two years 
after his arrival, on November 12th, 17 19, Gramme was 
married to Ann Diggs, the stepdaughter of Sir William 
Keith, with whose family the young couple continued to 
reside. Thus the Keiths and Grajmes virtually formed but 
one household. 

The popularity which Colonel Keith had enjoyed in Phila- 
delphia before receiving a governor's commission was, after 
his establishment there in an official capacity, immensely 
increased by his friendly conduct toward the settlers, his 
charming manners, and his liberal e.xpenditure of borrowed 
money. Although by birth a Scotchman, and, doubtless, 
bred a Presbyterian, he made it a point to be a constant at- 
tendant at Christ Church, where his views and suggestions 
were consideratel)- listened to and eagerly followed. P^'rom 
the old vestry-books we read, amongst other items concern- 
ing him, that on P'ebruary 3d, 1718. "Colonel Keith has been 
pleased, at a considerable charge, not only to erect a spacious 
pew right before the altar, to be appropriated in all time to 
come for the convenience' and use of the Governor and his 
family for the time being, but also to promise and voluntarily 
agree to pay the Nt^arh' rent of /s per annum ior the same, 
to the use ot the church." 



GR^ME PARK. 



371 



The Penns appear to have been entirely satisfied with the 
prospects of Keith's administration. Hannah Penn writes 




LADY KKITH. 



I thus to James Logan regarding him : "Overlooking all other 
difficulties, have at your requests, got William Keith commis- 



y]2 GRAEME PARK. 



sioned by my husband, and approved by the Crown ; and 
with a general consent, he now goes deputy-governor o\"er 
that province and territories. Though he was pretty much a 
stranger to me, yet his prudent conduct and obhging behavior, 
joined with your observations thereon, give me and those con- 
cerned good hopes to beheve that he will prove satisfactory. 
He is certainlv an understanding- man, and seems to have 
himself master of the affairs of \our province, even beyond 
what one might expect in so short a time." 

That, for the present, the Penns gave themselves no fur- 
ther concern respecting the deputy-governor appears by 
the following letter from Keith to Hannah Penn, dated at 
Philadelphia, May ist, 1718: "I can't but say it gives me 
some concern that I have never yet had the honovr of a 
line from your family since I came hither. The Proprietor's 
death has been frequently surmised here of late, but I doubt 
not we shall be able to baftie the doings of those who indus- 
triously set about to raise such reports." 

To this, after a long interval. Hannah Penn replies: "I 
am glad, however, to hear that in general thy administration 
of the government has been easy and satisfactory to the 
people, and that there is so good a harmony and unanimity 
among you which I desire may be kept up." 

It was but shortly before this that Governor Keith had pur- 
chased the fine plantation afterward known as Graeme Park, 
with the intention of making it his country-seat. Gramme 
Park is in Horsham Township. Montgomery County, near the 
Bucks County line, about one mile north-west of the Dovles- 
town and Willow Grove turnpike, and nineteen miles out of 
Philadelphia. 

The original tract included five thousand and eiohtv-eieht 
acres, and was conveyed by Penn's commissioners to Samuel 
Carpenter of Philadelphia, merchant. May 26th. 1706. Car- 



GR.EME PARK. 



373 



penter's executors sold of the same tract to Andrew Hamil- 
ton in 1 718, twelve hundred acres, which, upon the 5th day 
of March of the same year, Hamilton conveyed to Sir Wil- 
liam Keith, the description in the deed reading as follows : 
"Beginning- at a corner Black oak marked ' S. C' in Joseph 
Fisher's line ; from thence by the said Fisher's land south- 
east 40S perches to a corner post of Thomas Kenderdine's 
land ; from thence extending north-east, by the said Kender- 
dine's land and other land of Samuel Carpenter, deceased, 
474 perches to another corner post standing in William 
Fishbourne's line ; thence north-west in the line dividine the 
counties of Philadelphia and Bucks, by the said Fishbourne's 
land and other land late of the said Samuel Carpenter, 40S 
perches to a corner white oak, marked ' S. C. ;' from thence 
south-west 474 perches to the place 
of beginning; containing 1200 acres, 
to the only proper use and behoof of 
the said William Keith, his heirs and 
assigns for ever, under the propor- 
tionate part of the yearly Quit-Rent 
hereafter accruing for the hereby 
granted premises." At this time the 
propert)' was considered to be on the 
very outskirts of civilization. Few 
had then ventured to locate so far 
in the wilderness, and the land, if 
not largely covered by timber, was 
at least totally unimproved, nor was 
there any public approach nearer 

than the highway subsequently known as "the Old York 
Road," which had only been surveyed a few years before, 
in 171 1, although it is probable that some path existed 
previously. 




VANE OK GR.EME PARK. 



374 GR^-EME PARK. 



Governor Keith must have at once commenced improving 
this land, and by 1721 he was, it seems, ready to erect his first 
building-, and made a contract, on the 12th of December of 
that year, with one John Kirk, mason, for that purpose, so 
that the mansion-house of Graeme Park was begun in 1721 
and probably finished in 1722. This statement is confirmed 
by the old weather-vane formerly upon the building. This 
old vane in 1855 was in the possession of Hugh Foulke of 
Gwynedd, who is said to have purchased it for old iron from 
the Lukens estate in 1829. ''It was of wrought iron, thirty- 
eight inches in length. The part bearing 'W. K., 1722,' 
which was seventeen inches in length, was cut out in it after 
the manner of a stencil. At the lower part was a screw, with 
which it might be secureci to its place." 

Other buildings followed the erection of the mansion. On 
the 25th of March, 1722, it is recorded that the "Hon. Sir 
William Keith, Bart., Governor," acquainted his council "that 
he had made a considerable advancement in the erecting of a 
building at Horsham, in the County of Philadelphia, in order 
to carry on the manufacture of grain, etc., and that it is neces- 
sary some convenient roads and highways through the woods, 
to and from the said settlement, be laid out by order of ihis 
Board ;" which was shorth^ afterward done. 

The mansion-house erected by Keith, and which, as we 
have observed, is still standing, but unoccupied, was probably 
at first intended as a malt-house, but was soon changed to a 
dwelling. It is over sixty feet long, twenty-five wide, and is 
three stories high. The walls are of stone and over two feet 
in thickness. The main or drawing-room is at the north end, 
and is twenty-one feet square, and its walls are finely wain- 
scoted and panelled from the floor to the ceiling, a height of 
fourteen feet. The fireplace in this room — or hall, for we 
may so term it —is of marble imported from abroad, whilst 



GR^ME PARK. 



375 



those of the other apartments are decorated with Dutch tiles, 
then much in fashion throucrh the Colonies. Above the great 
fireplace in the dining-hall there was anciently a panel bear- 
ing Keith's arms, but this was subsequently removed. The 
iron plate of one of the hearths in a second-story bedchamber 
bears the date 1728. 

The stairs and balusters are most substantial, and are 
of solid white oak, and the beams and window-frames 
are of the same material. The three floors contain each 
three apartments, making nine rooms in all, the servants' 
quarters, in Colonial times, being sep- 
arate from the house. One account of 
the property says : " From the existing 
view of Grceme Park before 1755, and the 
draft of the estate made for Lady Keith by 
William Parsons about 1736, the tenant- 
houses and stabling are denoted standing 
west of the mansion, pretty well toward 
the branch of the Neshaminy, which flows 
here in a northerly course." 

In front of the old mansion, at the distance, perhaps, of 
about forty yards, are two great sycamore trees, planted, 
doubtless, by the baronet-governor. They indicate what 
was, in Colonial days, the main approach to the courtyard, 
where a gateway at one time existed. 

Near by is the great "lifting-stone " of Gov. Keith. This 
is a boulder dressed by the stone-cutter into a shape much 
resembling a huge mushroom, and which Sir William re- 
quired to be lifted by all applicants for work. 

After Keith had been deposed from his office in 1726, he 
retired to his Horsham estate, where he continued to live for 
two years. About April, 1727, he left for England on per- 
sonal affairs, having some time previously mortgaged all of 




KI.ITH S ARMS, FROM 
HIS SEAL. 



376 CK.HMJ-: J\lKk'. 

his household si'oods to Ur. Ihonias Gnime. and conveyed the 
1 lc>rshain plantatiiMi lo his wile for her own use durino- hie. The 
sumptuous manner in which Governor Keith hved at Gramme 
Park and at his town-house, may be judoed from the schedule 
"of the slaves, plate, household furniture, horses, cattle, 
goods, chattels, upon Sir William Keith's plantation at Hor- 
sham, in the Count\ oi Philadelphia." llie sla\es were foiu'- 
teen in number. 0[ the many articles enumerated may be 
mentioned — a silver punch-bowl, ladle, and strainer, lour 
salvers, three casters, and thirty-three spoons, seventy laroe 
pewter plates, fourteen smaller i^lates, six basins, six brass 
pots with covers ; chinaware ; thirteen dillerent sizes of bowls, 
six complete tea-sets, two dc^zen chocolate-cups, twenty dishes 
o\ various sizes, four dozen plates, six mug-s, one dozen fine 
coffee-cups," and also man\ o^.V\ pieces ot china. C^t deltt, 
stone, and glassware : eighteen jars, twehe venison pots, six 
white stone tea-sets, twelve mugs, six dozen plates, and 
twelve fine wine-decanters. Linen: twenty-four Holland 
sheets, twenty common sheets, fifty tablecloths, twelve dozen 
napkins, sixteen bedsteads, one hundred and torty-lour chairs, 
thirty-two tables, three clocks, fifteen looking-glasses, ten 
dozen knives and forks. C^f horses and stock : four coach- 
horses, seven saddle-horses, six working-horses, two mares 
and one colt : four oxrn, tifteen cows, tour bulls, six calves, 
thirty-one sheep, and twenty hogs. A large glass coach, two 
chaises, two wagons, one wain. Besides these chattels a great 
quantity of plate and furniture is mentioned in the old inventory. 
At Gramme Park this fine governor lived in a style which, 
although not unusual in the South, was previously unknown 
in Pennsylvania. He drove to Philadelphia with his coach- 
and-four and outriders in right royal style, and spent all of 
his income, and much more, in elegant entertainments and 
in assisting the poor. Colonel Spottswootl, governor ol \'ir- 



GRyEME PARK. 



2,77 



oinia, exactly siiinmecl uj) KimlIi's tharactiT when he told 
James Lo^an "that he was ot an honorable tamily, a baronet-, 
good-natured and obliging, and sj)ends, with a reputation to 
the place, all he gets of the countrx." 

"There is a tradition, based on pretty good authority in 
the neighborhooil, that the baronet had a prison built on his 
estate lor offenders. Descended as \\v. was Worn an old 



^ 



I 





^ 

^ 


.4 




HAI.I. AT CU.KMK I'AUK. 



feudal family, it has been thought in conse(]uence that he 
may have held here at times a manorial court for the trial of 
his servants and slaves, who thus had punishments inflicted 
ui)on them as was then the case in England and Scotland ; 
hence the foundation of this lintrerino- and oft-told cir- 
cumstance." 

He this circumstance as it may, it is certain that Keith was 



3/8 GR^ME PARK. 



immensely popular with the people at large. Governor Gor- 
don wrote to John Penn, under date of October i8th. 1726, 
that his "predecessor" had been elected to the Assembly, 
and when that body met on the 14th, "Sir William made his 
public entry into the city with about eighty horse, composed 
of butchers, tailors, blacksmiths, journeymen, apprentices, 
and carters, marching two and two. Sir William being at the 
head of them, some ships firing their guns." On the Sth 
of the following May, Gordon writes again that *" everything 
that has been proposed by the moderate and well-meaning 
People of the House has been opposed by Sir William and 
his Creatures, which consist of the members of the City and 
County of Philadelphia. I am sorry to tell you that the influ- 
ence of that Party has appeared in their late proceedings 
much greater than we had been aware of, so that if there is 
not some course taken to make this man quiet, we shall 
never be in peace here ; doubtless you will think it advisable 
to brinor about this o-ooci work for the ease of the country." 

In October, 1727, he was re-elected to the Assembly, and 
continued to oppose the Proprietary party. In April, 1728, 
he tendered his resignation to that body, saying that aftairs 
of importance had now called him to Great Britain. What 
this business was can only be conjectured, but it is more than 
probable that the Proprietary, fearing Keith's growing popu- 
larity in the Province, tempted him back to England by an 
offer of preferment there. He left his wife as well provided 
for as his depleted means would allow, and, after his arrival 
in England, deeded her Graeme Park absolutely in fee simple. 
He conveyed his other property to trustees to pay his debts, 
especially the amounts due to those persons in London who 
had advanced him money to secure the office of governor 
and his outfit for Pennsylvania. 

We hear of hini afterward in England and Scotland. In 



GR^ME PARK. 



379 



June, 1732, he was elected a member of Parliament for Aber- 
deen to supply the place of Sir Archibald Grant, who had been 
expelled. He subsequently wrote a History of Virginia, printed 
at London, 1738. He was about this time imprisoned for debt 




FIRE-PLACE AT GK/EME PARK. 



in the Old Bailey, and, although once released, he unques- 
tionably finally died there on the i8th of November, 1749. 
Thus perished in prison Sir William Keith, Baronet, sometime 
governor of the Province of Pennsylvania and first owner of 
Greeme Park — a man very much schooled in the wiles of this 
world, of great ability as a statesman, and of no mean attain- 



380 GR.^ME PARK. 



ments as a scholar. Of him Benjamin Frankhn truly re- 
marked : " Differing" from the great body of the people \vhom 
he governed in religion and manners, he acquired their 
esteem and confidence. If he sought popularity, he pro- 
moted the public happiness, and his courage in resisting the 
demands of the Proprietaries may be ascribed to a higher 
motive than private interest." 

When the history of Pennsylvania comes in the future to 
be written by some master hand, then there may perchance 
come down to us, from the twilight of the past, a better esti- 
mate of this generous, talented, but unfortunate baronet than 
his present role of a diplomat of fortune. 

Keith's eldest son had ciied prior to his father, and his 
second son, Robert, who was at that time a lieutenant-colonel 
in the Prussian service, succeeded, or should have succeeded, 
to the baronetcy, which is now dormant. In 1737. Lad\- Keith 
parted with all her interest in Gramme Park, and her son-in- 
law. Dr. Thomas Grceme, became sole owner. Lady Keith 
did not die in poverty, as often stated, but lived with her son- 
in-law's family, o\\^ of the richest in the Province. 

Since his arrival in Pennsylvania, Dr. Gramme had built up 
a large and profitable practice, and was now a man of inde- 
pendent means and could well aftbrd the luxury of a fine 
country-seat. We have already spoken, in a general wa\-, 
of his ancestrv, and other details concerning his lineage, 
drawn from authentic sources, will be tound in the genea- 
logical charts accompanying this article. It has been stated 
that he probably graduated at Leyden University, but the 
rolls of that institution ^o not show that this is so. as no 
mention of his name appears, although it is known that he 
was in that city in 171 2. nor does he seem to have been a 
graduate of Edinburgh University. It may be that he served 
an apprenticeship in London ; at any rate, he seems to have 



GR^ME PARK. 381 



been thoroughly versed in his profession. The practice of 
medicine, however, did not prevent him from accepting many 
positions of importance within the gift of his Provincial 
friends. He was appointed to a naval office in 1719, and 
in February. 1726. became a member of the Council, serv- 
ing until the termination of the governor's commission. 
In April. 1731, he was one of the three justices of the Su- 
preme Court, appointed by Gordon — a position which he 
continued to occupy for nearly twenty years — and was also 
made, in 1732, a "justice of Oyer and Terminer and General 
Gaol Delivery for Philadelphia, Bucks, and Chester counties." 
In 1739 he became physician of the port of Philadelphia, and 
in 1 75 1 was chosen physician and surgeon to the Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital, resigning in 1753. He was president of the 
St. Andrew's Society from 1749 until his decease. It also 
appears that, with his brother, Patrick Gramme, a Philadelphia 
merchant. Dr. Gramme was interested in several extensive 
real-estate speculations. One of their joint purchases was a 
tract of about three thousand acres of land in the present 
Northampton County. 

It is known that Dr. Graeme did not at first reside contin- 
uously at Graeme Park, but remained in his city house during 
the winter, but illness, which at hrst threatened to be of a very 
serious nature, finally compelled him to give up his practice and 
for a time spend the entire year in the country. In a letter to 
his intimate friend Thomas Penn, dated at Philadelphia, Novem- 
ber 7, 1746, he says: "Yours of the 20th of May I received 
with the greatest acknowledgment of your goodness in regard 
to my care of Nanny Hockley, and, as it gave you satisfaction, 
very much added to mine. This leads me to say something 
in regard to myself, which is that I can assure you I begin to 
feel very sensibly the impression of years upon my consti- 
tution. 1 have this tall been under a lino-erino- intermittent 



GR.^ME PARK' 



fever, of which I am prett\- well recovered : but the complaint 
that sticks in me. and of which 1 never expect to be freed 
from, is an insupportable, fatiguing- cough, which I should 
take to be truly consumptive were it not I keep prett\- free 
from hectic fever. Vet it is such as will oblige me to retire 
into the countr\- for some time next spring tor a change of 
air. and to live on whev and butterniilk ; and whether 1 sliall 
ever be able after to follow my practice 1 cannot say. but 
doubt it much." 

Although Dr. Gramme did. finally, recover sufhciently to 
attend to some of his patients, yet many of his future years 
and tlie closing ones of his long and useful lite were spent at 
Grxme Park. 

In another letter to his old triend. Thomas Penn. he writes 
under date of July ist. 1755 : • Vou are pleased to compliment 
me about Horsham, which, as you observe. I have endeavored 
to make a tine plantation in regard to tields and meadows 
and enclosures, not much yet regarding the house and gar- 
dens. I have a park which encloses three hundred acres of 
land, which is managed in a manner quite ditierent from any 
I have seen here or elsewhere. It is very good soil, and one- 
half lies with an easy descent to the south, besides avenues 
and vistas dirough it; there is now just done about one hun- 
dred and tifty acres of it quite clear of shrubs and bushes, 
only the tall trees and good young sapling timber standing. 
This I harrow, sow it in grass-seed, then brush and roll it. 1 
expect it soon capable of maintaining a large stock ot sheep 
and black cattle ; it would have been one of the finest parks 
for deer that could be imagined. I have double-ditched and 
double-hedged it in. and as a piece oi beauty and ornament 
to a dwelling I dare venture to say that no nobleman in Eng- 
land but would be proud to have it on his seat. It is true it 
has attbrded me a oood deal of pleasure. The charges have 



GR.EME PARK. 383 

been consitlcniblc and the returns l)ut small, th()iiL;h I think 
[it] cannot fail answering the puri)c)sc, 1 am greatly pleased- 
to lind my brother Peter interested with your correspondence, 
and sends his greatest personal regard and best good wishes." 

It was ten years after this that Miss liliza Stedman, whilst 
spending the summer here with the Grcumes, writes thus to 
r^lizabeth, the doctor's daughter, then abroad for her health : 
"CiR.KMK Park, Ma)' 17, 1765, My beloved friend will see 
by the above that I am now in a most agreeable retirement, 
ni)- mind disengaged from the trilling gayeties which claim 
the attention in the city. Here I am surrounded with tran- 
quillity — nothing to disturb that happy composure with which 
the infancy of spring is attired. All is gay and blooming ; 
Nature seems to rejoice ; each field and grove is dressed in 
rich attire to delight the eye. The little feathered tribes praise 
their Creator for returning good in harmonious anthems ; the 
bleating flocks, emblem of innocence, wait the hand of covet- 
ous man to deprive them of their warm robes. Reading and 
walking by turns employ my time, and when in one of my 
solitary rambles through the park or the little grove by the 
milk-house I recollect the many charming hours we have 
passed together there in innocent chat, I am so lost as to still 
fancy you are with me, till I go to address my companion, 
whom 1 cannot find." 

Sweet Elsie Stedman, as she was often called, has slept 
beneath the mossy marble in the churchyard a full century, 
but "the little grove by the milk-house" and the tall trees of 
the doctor's park arc still there to remind us of these gay 
misses and the bright days they spent together at Horsham. 

It was shortly before the date of the above letter that 
there commenced a series of misfortunes which shut out from 
Dr. Gra^Miie the pleasure which he anticipated in spending his 
last days at his beloved park. The first of these was the ill- 



384 GR.^ME PARK 



ness of his wife, who had been aihng- with the "distemper" 
for some time past. His daiiohter, EHzabeth. had also be- 
come an invaHd. and it is said that the cause was the break- 
ing off of an unfortunate love-affair. In June. 1764. she was 
sent to Scotland, under the care of the Rev. Richard Peters, 
of Philadelphia, with a view of recovering her health and 
rousing- her spirits by a visit to her Scotch kinsmen. Prom 
Scotland she wrote man\- cheerful letters to her family at 
Grreme Park. 

In the mean rime. o\\ the jqth of May. 1765. her mother 
had passed away, writing in Philadelphia, where she had been 
living, fourteen days before her death to her loved daughter 
that " these considerations have made me quite resigned as 
to seeing you, and, indeed, my dear, as \ou went out of the 
courtyard into the chaise, something whispered to me ; ' Vou 
have taken your last look of her.' Two similar impressions 
I had in my life before, both of which proved true." 

It was the occasion of the sad confirmation of this last 
presentiment of poor Ann Gra?me that caused Miss Stedman 
to write thus her dear friend: "This is \\'ednesda\-, and o\\ 
Sunday I saw she was going ven,- fast, and I kissed her, as I 
thought, for the last time. She begged a blessing for me. — 
I cannot dwell longer on this subject." 

Mrs. Ann Gramme was a highly-educated and talented 
woman and enjoyed a large circle of acquaintances. Francis 
Hopkinson, during a visit to Gramme Park in July, 1765, com- 
posed " An Elegy Sacred to the Memory of Mrs. Ann Gramme." 
It closes as follows : 

" Oh ! may I strive her footsteps to pursue. 
And keep the Christian's glorious prize in view ; 
Like her defy the stormy waves of life. 
And with heroic zeal maintain the strife : 
Like her find comfort in the arms of death, 
And in a peaceful calm resign my breath." 



GR^ME PARK. 385 



Of her a friend writes that she possessed "a mascuHne 
mind, with all the female charms and accomplishments which" 
render a woman agreeable to both sexes." 

After Mrs. Gramme's death the doctor shut himself up 
in seclusion at the park. The death of his wife had greatly 
affected him, and he suffered from the cough which had so 
long racked his frame ; and here, on Friday, September 4th, 
1772, at the age of eighty-four years, he dropped dead whilst 
returning from a walk in his crarden. He was buried in 
Christ Churchyard beside his wife and family. On his 
tombstone are the following lines, composed by his unhappy 
daughter : 

" The soul that lived within this crumbling dust 
In every Act was Eminently just ; 
Peaceful through Life, As peaceful, too, in Death, 
Without one Pang he rendered back his breath." 

At the time of his death the estate consisted of one 
thousand acres, which had been bequeathed to his daughter 
Elizabeth. 

Elizabeth Gramme — or, as she was later better known, 
Elizabeth Fergusson — lived a life which for romance and mis- 
fortune was unequalled, perhaps, by any American woman of 
her time. She was the youngest and favorite daughter of Dr. 
Gramme, and the object of his earnest care. She was born in 
Philadelphia, and her grandmother. Lady Ann Keith, is said 
to have been her godmother. She early in life displayed a 
quaint poetic fancy, and her earlier years were passed amid 
books and flowers. Dr. Rush, the intimate friend of the 
father, writes : " She discovered in early life signs of uncom- 
mon talents and virtues, both of which were cultivated with 
great care, and chiefly by her mother. Her person was slen- 
der and her health delicate A pleasant and highly-im- 
proved retreat known by the name of GraMiie Park, where 

25 



386 



GR.-EME PARK 



her parents spent their summers, afforded her the most de- 
lightful opportunities for study, meditation, rural walks and 

pleasures, and. 
above all, for cul- 
tivating a talent 
for poetr}'. This 
retreat was. more- 
over, consecrated 
to societ}' a n d 
f r i e n d s h i p . A 
plentiful table was 
spread daily for 
visitors, and two 
or three ladies 
from Philadelphia 
generally partook 
with Miss Gramme 
o\ the enjoyments 
which her situa- 
tion in the countn," 
afforded," 

But Miss Grceme did not always remain at her Horsham 
home, for we find, from a letter from her mother dated 24th 
of September. 1755. that she was staying with friends at Bur- 
lington, Xew Jersey. Mrs. Gra-me writes her: "I steal time 
to write, notwithstanding my hurr}-. which you may believe is 
not a little, as Sir John [Sir John St. Clair, a guest at Grreme 
Park] goes to-day at twelve, anil we must have dinner ready 
before that : besides, other company dines here. We shall 
now return to our usual quiet. \ our room is readv tor \ou, 
and I hope by the first opportunity you will let me know 
when I shall send for you, for I shall have no peace till vou 
come home. I am so afraid of vour beino- sick, which vou 




>TAIK\VAV. (~,R.tMK i \KK. 



GR.^ME PARK. 3S7 

cannot escape there at this season. This comes by a sen^ant 

o\ Sir John's ; he will probably make you a call if he goes by 
Bristol, tor he inquired twice if he should not see you at home 
before he went, and when we told him you were at Burling- 
ton, he said that he would have an opportunity of seeing you 
there I send you the ticket to the ball ; it was a sump- 
tuous one. the supper dressed by the general's French cook, 
and his plate set out on the sideboard, besides a great deal 
of plate borrowed from the governor. Mr. Allen, and others. 
Notwithstanding all these preparations. I understand the 
olticers did not gain much favor from the ladies. There 
was a crreat number not at the ball, including our familv. I 
hope you will have an opportunity of seeing the armv march 
through Bristol : they go from here on Monday." 

"About her seventeenth year." writes Dr. Rush. "Miss 
Gra?me was addressed by a citizen of Philadelphia of respect- 
able connections and character. She gave him her heart, with 
the promise of her hand upon his return from London, whither 
he went to complete his education in the law. From causes 
which it is not necessary- to detail the contract of marriage at 
a tuture day was broken, but not without much suffering on 
the part of Miss Gramme. To relieve and divert her mind 
from the eftects of this event she translated the whole of 
Tclcmachus into English verse ; but this, instead of saving, 
perhaps aided the distress of her disappointment in impairing 
I her health, and that to such a degree as to induce her father, 
• in conjunction with two other physicians, to advise a vovage to 
I England tor its recover}-, her mother concurring in this opinion." 
In reference to her lover, one of her friends, Margaret 
I Abercrombie. wrote her : " In regard to my friend, as you are 
, pleased to st}-le him. I have little to offer either in vindication 
I ot his actions or his arguments, and wish, if it were possible, 
' vou could erase him from your mind." 



388 



GRyEME PARK. 



It was shortly after this, as we have said, that she sailed for 
Europe. Miss Gramme's travels in England and Scodand were 
quite extended. She visited Liverpool, York, Scarborough, 




DR. THOMAS GR.*;ME. 



Bath, Bristol, and London, and then journeyed to Scodand, 
where, besides visidng the principal cities, she spent some time 
at Balgowan. the family seat, then held by her father's nephew, 
Thomas Graeme (her first cousin) , who was delighted at the visit 



GR^ME PARK. 389 



and presented her with several books from the family library, 
elegantly bound, containing his book-plate with the Graeme 
arms. These arms she had engraved, although wrongfully, 
upon a book-plate of her own, in 1766, Her intended visit to 
the Continent was prevented by the sad tidings of her mother's 
death, and she returned with the Rev. Mr. Peters and Rev. 
Nathaniel Evans on a ship commanded by Captain Sparks, 
arriving at Philadelphia 26th December, 1765. 

In reference to this trip it is observed that "she sought 
and was sought by the most celebrated literary gentlemen 
who flourished in England at the time of the accession of 
George the Third to the throne. She was introduced to this 
monarch, and particularly noticed by him. The celebrated 
Dr. Fothergill, whom she consulted as a physician, became 
her friend, and corresponded as long as she lived." It is 
related that whilst attending the Derby her reckless betting 
and gay banter were such as to bring a host of titled ad- 
mirers to her feet. 

After her return to Philadelphia she became the chief-of- 
staff in the small household, and it was at one of the little teas 
in which she so delighted that she met Henry Hugh Fer- 
gusson, who afterward became her husband. After but a 
brief courtship they were married. In her journal she writes 
that she first met him at her father's city house, December 
7th, 1771, and was wedded to him at Swedes' Church, 21st 
April, 1772, at eight o'clock in the evening, four months prior 
to her father's death. 

The marriage was secret and entirely unknown to her aged 
parent, who strongly opposed it and died ignorant of its con- 
summation, the probable inequality in the ages being the cause. 
Miss Graeme being thirty-three and Fergusson only twenty- 
three years old. It is said that Fergusson desired that she 
should inform Dr. Gramme, threatening to go up to the park 



390 



GR^ME PARK. 



and do so himself unless she complied. It seems diat she 
finally decided to tell her father, and selected a fine fall morn- 
ing at an hour, before breakfast, when he would return from his 
usual walk. " I sat," she writes, " on the bench at the window 
and watched him coming up the avenue. It was a terrible task 
to perform. I was in agony ; at every step he was approaching 
nearer. As he reached the tenant-house he fell and died. Had 
I told him the day before, as I thought of doing, I should have 
reproached myself for his death and gone crazy." 

Mrs. Fergusson, shortly after she succeeded to her share 
of her father's estate, appears to have transferred a large part 
of her fortune, including, probably, a part of her interest in 
Graeme Park, to the youthful adventurer, who, now as her hus- 
band, began to enjoy the wealth which he so long had coveted. 

>.> i m)zt^' — 1 For a time the 

^" ^^^j^^ rereussons lived 

peacefully, if not in 
complete happiness, 
at Graeme Park, but 
upon the breaking 
out of the Revo- 
lution, Mr. Ferp-us- 
son proclaimed him- 
self a Tory and took 
refuge under the Brit- 
ish flagf, desertincr his 
wife, of whom, having 
acquired much of her 
property, he had long 
uTown tired. 

In addition to this, 
TO LiKT, BEFORE EMPLOYING THEM. Mrs Fero^ussou fur- 

ther imperilled her estate by consenting to act as bearer of the 




m REQUIRED HIS RETAINERS 



GRyEME PARK. 391 



famous or infamous letter which the Rev. Jacob Duche wrote 
to Washinorton after the battle of Germantown, " to induce him 
to save the further effusion of blood in so hopeless a cause, and, 
if necessary, at the head of his army to compel Congress to 
sue for peace, and thus serve his country and the cause of 
humanity." This letter was written by Duche October 8th, 
1777, and was by Mrs. Fergusson delivered to Washington 
at his head-quarters in Towamencin. Of this letter the com- 
mander-in-chief speaks thus: "I, yesterday, through the hands 
of Mrs. Fergusson of Graeme Park, received a letter of a very 
curious and extraordinary nature from Mr. Duche, which I 
have thought proper to transmit to Congress. To this ridic- 
ulous, illiberal performance I made a short reply by desiring 
the bearer of it, if she would hereafter by any accident meet 
with Mr. Duche, to tell him I would have returned it unopened 
if I had had any idea of the contents ; observing at the same 
time that I highly disapproved the intercourse she seemed to 
have been carrying on, and expected it would be discon- 
tinued." 

Whether or not Mrs. Fergusson was really a Loyalist at 
heart or in sympathy with the American cause will always, 
perchance, remain a mystery. 

Graeme Park was seized as her husband's estate, he havine 
been attainted of high treason, but the property was recovered 
for her by an act of Assembly. In 1791 she sold the park to 
Dr. William Smith, her nephew by marriage, who deeded off 
several tracts, finally disposing of the remainder to Samuel 
Penrose, whose family still own it. Mrs. Fergusson left the 
park in 1797, and resided, with the friend of her early youth. 
Miss Stedman, at the home of Seneca Lukens, about two 
miles distant. She died 23d February, 1801. 

Very much, indeed, might be added to the romantic and 
melancholy story of this ancient estate. Scarcely any house 



392 



GR^ME PARK 



in the Colonies had a career more eventful or sheltered at 
various times a greater number of distinguished persons, 
some of whom died rich and great, whilst others, equally 
talented, but less favored by that fickle jade, Fortune, per- 
ished in obscurity and wretched poverty. 

Not, perhaps, in many other mansions of its day will we 
find gathered such a crowd of book-lovers and men of literary 




VIEW NEAR SPRING-HOUSE, GR^ME PARK. 



attainments. Of those famous in the history of our country 
who spent much time there may be mentioned — Elias Bou- 
dinot, Francis Hopkinson, Richard Stockton, Samuel With- 
am Stockton, Dr. Benjamin Rush, George Meade, Benjamin 
Franklin, Thomas Penn, Andrew Hamilton, Rev. Richard 
Peters, Jeremiah Langhorne, Dr. Witherspoon, Bishop White, 
Rev. Jacob Duche, and John Penn. 



GRy^ME PARK. 393 



Speaking of Elizabeth Graeme's home, Dr. Rush justly 
observes, that "at her father's house she was surrounded by 
the most refined and literary society in America." 

Such, as we have attempted to sketch them, were the suc- 
cessive owners of Graeme Park at Horsham. If their spirits 
might be permitted to continually haunt this earthly abiding- 
place of theirs, a strange procession would glide silently 
through the old hall : the elegant baronet in his glittering 
armor of gold inlay and embroidery, with his pale and 
hunger-pinched face ; the grim but hospitable Dr. Graeme ; 
the beautiful and romantic Mrs. Ferofusson and her weak 
Tory husband. The first died in prison, starved and worried 
by his creditors ; the second dropped dead in his park ; the 
third perished in great and prolonged agony at a farm-house 
near the home that had once been her heritage, but from 
which she had been exiled ; and the fourth, an attainted 
traitor, fell in an obscure skirmish in the Flemish wars. 

Of Mrs. Youne, the elder dauorhter of Dr. Graeme, there 
are many descendants, and that branch of the family has dis- 
tinguished itself in many ways. Mrs. Young's daughter, who 
married Dr. Smith, was quite an authoress, and some of her 
works possess much merit. 

Anna Smith, the dauehter, died in 1808, and Dr. Rush 
writes of her as " exhibiting to a numerous and affectionate 
circle of acquaintances a rare instance of splendid talents and 
virtues descending unimpaired through four successive gen- 
erations." 

Among Mrs. Smith's poems — some of which were published 
after her death in the Columbian Mao-azinc — were "Ode to 
Liberty," "Elegy to the Volunteers who Fell at Lexington," 
"Lines to Memory of Warren," "Walk in the Churchyard at 
Wicaco." 

The ill-fortune which seems to have pursued all those con- 



394 GR^ME PARK. 



nected with Graeme Park did not desert John Young, Dr. 
Graeme's grandson. This young man was highly educated. 
To Mrs. Fereusson, then in England, his father writes of him 
in 1765 : "John is really a good and fine boy — learns fast 
and loves the Academy." 

As early as 1774 family troubles began to separate this 
unfortunate race. 

John Young writes to his aunt, Mrs. Fergusson, about the 
beginning of this year, stating as a reason why he did not call 
upon her that she was " lodged at Mr. Stedman's, a house my 
father has laid his commands on me never to enter ; his 
reason I know not." He was at this time engaged with a 
mercantile house, but writes of his studies. 

At the breaking out of the Revolution, John Young, then 
about eighteen years old, espoused the British cause against 
the wishes of his good father, who appears to have been a 
staunch patriot. 

Young secured a commission in the English Navy, and 
was soon afterward captured and brought to Philadelphia, 
where, during his parole, at the solicitation of his father, he 
was permitted to reside at Graeme Park. In 1780 he pur- 
chased a commission in the Forty-second Highlanders, the 
Black Watch, and subsequently was lieutenant in the Sixtieth 
Foot (1787). He had in 1785 made application as a Loyalist 
for losses incurred during the war, but was not successful. 
He writes to his aunt, Mrs. Fergusson, October 4, 1787, as 
follows: 'T went to bed with these meditations, and in the 
midnight hour the spectre of Poverty drew my curtains, and 
stared at me with such an aspect as frightened away my 
philosophy. In this temper I arose in the morning, and 
carried in my name to the War-office as one who was desir- 
ous of serving again, and was yesterday informed that I was 
appointed to my old regiment in one of the additional com- 



GR^ME PARK. 395 



panies to be raised. As soon, then, as war is determined on 
I shall be sent to the most remote and dreary corner on the 
island, in the most dreary season of the year, among people 
with whom I had long enough associated to dislike, to com- 
mence again an employment which I had practised long 
enough to be sated with, by raising men in the service of 
a country for which I have no particular affection. 

" I have been the instrument of injustice without compunc- 
tion, but now I have not even a prejudice to keep me in favor 
with myself. 

"With such sentiments, to become a journeyman, with 
penurious wages, in the trade of blood is to become a cha- 
racter that a galley-slave would not contemplate with envy, 
for I have his reluctance without his consolation." 

In 1 789 he writes that he was but recently recovered from 
a paralytic stroke, and going to France to recuperate. He 
speaks of the approaching trouble there, and says that he 
will join the people, which, however, he did not do. 

In 1792 he published in London a translation of an ancient 
geographical work by D'Anville, in two volumes of over 
eight hundred pages. He died in London in great poverty, 
April 25, 1794. The following lines are upon his tombstone 
at St. Martin' s-in-the-Fields, London : 

** Far distant from the soil where thy last breath 
Seal'd the sad measure of their various Woes, 
One female friend laments thy mournful death ; 
Yet why lament what only gave repose?" 



DESCENDANTS OF DR. THOMAS GR.-EME OF 
GRyEME PARK. 

[According to Charles P. Keith, Esq., in his Provincial Councillors of Pennsylvania, to 
whom we are indebted for a part of this list of Dr. Grreme's posterity, Dr. Grceme was the 
son of Thomas Grreme of Balgowan, who is doubtfully claimed as the cadet of the Grremes 
of Garvock and whose pedigree is more or less set forth in that bock. 

After a very careful examination of the various pedigrees of Graeme, I do not find 
enough evidence to connect Dr. Thomas Graeme with the pedigree prepared in the Coun- 
cillors, for, while admitting that he, doubtless, sprang from jjie line there indicated, there is 
nothing at present to prove it. 

Balgowan is quite a large tract of country, and it seems that there were several families 
of Grreme settled thereon, any one of which might have produced Dr. Thomas Grieme, the 
Provincial Councillor of Pennsylvania.] 

I. (i) Dr. Thomas Gr.bme, born at Balgowan, in Perthshire, Scotland, 20 Oct., 16SS. He 

married, at Christ Church, Phila., 12 Nov., 17 19, Ann, daughter of Robert Diggs, by 
Ann Newbury, his wife, afterward Lady Keith. Ann Diggs was born 22 July, 1700, 
at St. Albans, England, and died at Phila., 29 May, 1765 ; buried in Christ Churchyard. 

II. Issue of Dr. Thomas Grame and Ann, his "wife : 

2. Thomas, b. 5 Sept., 1721 ; bapt. Ch. Ch. 27 Sept., 1721 ; d. unm. 6 Sept., 1747; bu. 

Ch. Ch. He was Collector of Port of New Castle on the Delaware. 

3. William, b. 22 July, 1723; bapt. Ch. Ch. 4 Aug., 1723; d. 23 Sept., 1733. 

4. Ann, b. i Jan., 1725-26; d. s. p. 3 Mar., 1766; m. at Ch. Ch. I Jan., 1749, Capt. 

Charles Stedman, who d. 28 Sept., 1784, aged 71 years. 

5. Mary [Jane], b. 27 Apr., 1727; bapt. Ch. Ch. 26 June, 1727; m. James Young. 

6. Rebecca, b. 23 Nov., 1728; bapt. Ch. Ch. 25 Dec, 1728; d. 11 Mar., 1730-31. 

7. Patrick, b. 19 May, 1731 ; bapt. Ch. Ch. 20 May, 1731 ; d. 28 May, 1731. 

8. Elizabeth, b. 19 May, 1731 ; bapt. Ch. Ch. 20 May, 1731 ; bu. 12 June, 1731. 

9. Elizabeth, b. 3 Feb., 1736—37; bapt. Ch. Ch. 3 Feb., 1736-37. She m., at Swedes' 

Church, Phila., 21 Apr., 1772, Henry Hugh Fergusson. She d. s. p. 

II. (5) M.VRY [J.\ne] Gr.^me, daughter of the Councillor, born 27 April, 1727; bapt. Ch. 

Ch. 26 June following, as " Mary" (tombstone reads " M. Jane Young") ; died 28 Jan., 
1759; married James Young, Commissary General of the musters of Pennsylvania, and 
afterward Paymaster of Pennsylvania Troops. In 1767 he became a justice for County 
of Philadelphia. He was a Captain in Continental Army. Aug., 1776. He died 28 
Jan., 1779. aged 50 years; buried in Christ Churcliyard, Phila. The Supreme E.xecu- 
tive Council was invited to attend his funeral. 
396 



DESCEND.ANTS OF DR. THOMAS GRyEME. 397 



III. Issue of James Young and Mary Jane Giccme, his 'wife : 

10. Thomas Graeme, b. 22 Oct., 1754; bapt. Ch. Ch. 17 Nov., 1754; d. Ii June, 1756. 

11. Anna, b. 5 Nov., 1756; m. William Smitb. 

12. John, b. 6 Nov., 1757. He is said to have been a Loyalist, and to have served in 

the British Army. It is said that in 1780 he purchased a Lieutenancy in the 
Forty-second Foot, and was in the Sixtieth Foot in 1787. He was the author 
of U Anville' s Compenditim of Geography, with plates ; translated from the 
French, London, 1792, 8vo. He d. at London, 25 April, 1794. 

13. Jane, b. 25 Jan., 1759; bu. 19 Mar., 1759. 

III. (II) Anna Young, b. 5 Nov., 1756, daughter of James and Mary Jane Young; d. 4 
April, 1780; m., at Graeme Park, 30 Nov., 1775, Dr. William Smith of Phila., of the 
tirm Lehman & Smith, druggists. He graduated M. D. at Univ. of Pa.; was a member 
of the American Philosophical Society, and died 20 May, 1822. 

IV. Issue of William Smith and Anna Young, his zuife : 

14. Anna, b. 29 Aug., 1777; d. unm. 24 Feb., 1807. 

15. Thomas Graeme, b. 3 April, 1778; d. infant. 

16. Samuel [F.], b. 16 Mar., 1780; m. Ellen Mark. 

IV. (16) Samuel [F.] Smith, b. 16 Mar., 1780, son of William and Anna Smith; a mer- 
chant of Phila. ; President of Philadelphia Bank until 26 Jan., 1S52 ; d. 23 Aug., 1862; 
m., at Fredericksburg, Va., 27 Oct., 1806, Ellen, 4th daughter of John Mark. She was 
b. in Jefferson Co., Va., 27 June, 1783; d. at Phila., 10 Feb., i860. 

V. Issue of Samuel F. Smith and Ellen, his 7vife : 

17. William Stedman, b. 27 July, 1807; d. 24 Mar., iSlo. 

iS. Ann Grceme, b. 18 Jan., 1811; d. at Baltimore, 9 Jan., 1866; m., 15 May, 1S38, 
Henr)' C. TurnbuU of Baltimore Co., Md. 

19. John Mark, b. ii Dec, 1812; graduated A. B. at Univ. of Pa.; d. s. p. at Phila., 

I >Lay, 1 87 1. 

20. Samuel Lisle, b. ii Aug., 1S16; graduated A. B. at Univ. of Pa.; m. Martha M. 

Potts. 

21. William Stedman, b. 8 Sept., 1817; d. 21 July, 1819. 

22. Ellen Morrow, b. 8 Oct., 1821 ; m., 15 Jan., 1863, Rev. Peyton Harrison of Vir- 

ginia, and later of Baltimore, Md., and has: 23. Samuel Grreme Harrison, b. at 
Baltimore, 27 Oct., 1863. 

V. (20) Samuel Lisi.e Smith, b. 11 Aug., 1816, son of Samuel F. and Ellen Smith; d. at 

Chicago, 111., 30 July, 1S54; m., 12 Mar., 1838, Martha M. Potts. Attorney-at-law, 
Chicago. 

VI. Issue of Samuel lisle Smith and Martha M., his wife : 

24. George P. of Chicago, b. 18 Mar., 1839; m., 7 Dec, 1865, Laura G. Rountree, and 

has issue (surname Smith) : 

25. Ellen Lisle, b. 29 June, 187 1. 

26. George Lisle, b. 26 Mar., 1873; d. young. 

27. George Rountree, b. 30 June, 1874; d. young. 

28. Laura Peyton, b. 30 July, 1876. 



39^ DESCEXn.-lXrS of D/H. THOMAS GRAEME. 

V. iiS) Ann Gr-CJE, b. iS Jan., 1811; d. 9 Jan., 1S66: m., 15 May, 1S3S, Hemy v. 

Tumbull of Baliimore, Md. 

VI. Issue cf Hzttr}- C. THrHtmiJ ana Ar:n G.. c.v :;-:rV .- 

29. Anna Gr."eme. 

30. Elizabeth. 

31. Horaiio Whicridge. 

32. Olivia C 

33. Lawrence. 
31- A. Xesbit. 

VI. (33) Lawrence Ti'RN'BI'LL. attomeT-at-law. son of Henry C and Ann Turnboll of 
Baltinjore : m. Francese Hill Litchfield of Brcokh-n. X. V.. and had issue : 

VII. 35. Edwin Litchtield. 

36. Eleanor Litchfield. 

37. Percy Gneme. 
3S. Bayard. 

30. Grace Hill. 



, BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. 

From Portrait at Bra^idon. 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 




Upon the south bank of the placid James River, and 
within the confines of Prince George County in the Old 
Dominion, rests Brandon, the 
home of the Harrisons. What 
acreage remains of that vast 
plantation which, formerly, was 
called by the name, once esti- 
mated at nigh ten thousand 
acres of virgin soil, is now di- 
vided into Upper and Lower 
Brandon ; both places, however, 
being still held by the represent- 
atives of their former owners. 

The mansion at Lower Bran- 
don, which was probably com- 
menced by Colonel Nathaniel 
Harrison about the middle of 

the eighteenth centur)-, and finished by his son ot the same 
name, is built high up on a bluff and some two hundred 
yards back from the river. A picturesque path winds up 
from the landinof to the main entrance, crossing a lawn, from 
which a charming view of the house is obtained as it stands 
out from under the vasty shade trees of the park amid its 
little open of sunlit space. 

Like all extensive Virginia homes, Brandon is built of 
brick, and has, at first sight, the appearance of being three 



HARRISON CRF.ST, FROM OLD SILVER AT 
LOWER BRANDON, FROM A SKETCH MADE 
IN JUNE, 1S96. FROM THE HALL MARKS 
IT WAS JUDGED THAT THE PIECES OF 
PLATE BEARING THIS CREST WERE AT 
LEAST TWO CENTURIES OLD. 



26 



401 



402 BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 

separate houses connected by covered passage-ways ; but it 
is really a large, square main building with wings. 

The entrances from the river and from the land side lead 
directly into a great wainscoted hall, from which communi- 
cation is had with the dinine-room on the left, reckonino- from 
the river door, and the drawing-room on the right, and from 
these last passage-ways lead to other parts of the first floor, 
whilst a fine specimen of colonial staircase leads from the 
hall to the sleeping apartments. All of the lower story is 
wainscoted, but this was badly damaged during the Civil War, 
when the house seems to have been used as a barracks and 
the woodwork of the walls pried off by treasure-searchers. 

In the drawingr-room, to the left of the hall, hancr a num- 
ber of portraits ; notably those of Colonel William Byrd of 
Westover and his handsome daughter, Evelyn, particularly 
mentioned in the article on Westover. Here also in a glass 
case is the fan of Evelyn Byrd, used at court in England 
when she was presented to the king. 

On the dining-room walls hang many canvases by 
famous painters ; in fact, the gallery of portraits at Brandon 
is famous. Among them is the collection made in England 
by William Byrd, the colonial planter. The list includes Sir 
Wilfred Lawson, by Sir Godfrey Kneller ; the Duke of 
Argyle (jeanie Deans' friend); Lord Orrery; and Sir 
Charles Wager ; Miss Blount, celebrated by Pope ; Mary, 
Duchess of Montague ; William Byrd and his beautiful 
daughter, Evelyn ; and portraits by Vandyke, Sir Peter Lely, 
and other celebrated artists. A few years back ex-President 
Benjamin Harrison made a pilgrimage to Berkeley and 
Brandon, when he saw, for the first time, the celebrated 
homes of his illustrious ancestors. In this room, also, is 
preserved the family-plate and other curious and antique 
relics of old Virginia days. 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



405 



Some distance west of the house are the brick buildines 
intended to contain the provisions, and beyond this is the 
family burial-ground. The tombs, however, are mostly 




(JRiiVK I'l.ANlFT) r.V MRS. IlENJAMIN HARRISON. 

modern, except those of Benjamin Harrison and his wivei, 
which were removed from Old Brandon Church. 

Berkeley and Brandon, on opposite sides of the James 
River, are the cradles of the well-known Harrison family in 
Virginia. 



4o6 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



"In 1622 the plantation of Berkeley is first mentioned in 
colonial annals. It was then owned by George Thorpe, a 
man of prominence in that day. He had befriended the 
Indians in numerous instances, and had shown marked kind- 
ness to Opechancanough, the uncle of Pocahontas, but ' the 
only good Indian is the dead Indian,' and in the fearful 
uprising of that year Opechancanough himself assisted in 
the massacre of his benefactor. Later, the property passed 




mi.I.ET-HOLKS IN r)(X>R\VAY, liKANDON. 



into the hands of Benjamin Harrison, Speaker of the House 
of Burgesses and member of the Continental Congress, and 
remained in possession of his descendants until about twenty- 
five years ago. 

" Berkeley is a square brick dwelling, two stories high, 
with gable roof and dormer windows. The porch around the 
house has been added in recent years. Compared with stately 
Brandon, Berkeley is unpretentious, but it has been the birth- 
place of a governor of Virginia and Signer of the Declaration 



BRANDON ON THE LO WER JAMES. 



407 



of Independence, of a Revolutionary general, and of a Presi- 
dent of the United States, Nine generations of Benjamin 
Harrisons were on the Board of Visitors of historic William 
and Mary College, and many of the family were members of 
Congress and held other prominent positions. 

" One room in Berkeley has especial interest, as, upon his 




liRANDON HALL AND STAIRWAY. 



election to the Presidency, General William Henry (Tippe- 
canoe) Harrison came to write his inaugural address in it — 
'his mother's room.' 

" Berkeley is better known in the North as Harrison's 
Landing, the point of exchange of prisoners during the late 
war. After the batde of Malvern Hill, McClellan retreated 
to this point and there fortified himself. 



4o8 BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



"The common ancestor of the Harrisons of Berkeley and 
of Brandon was Benjamin Harrison of Surry County," 

Of the Brandon of long ago Paulding-, in his Letters from 
the Soiit/i, writes : 

"In one of my late excursions previous to setting out on 
my grand tour, I spent several days at the seat of one of 
these planters, who, by the way, was a lady, and such a one 
you will not see every day, Frank. In the place of general 
description, which is for the most part vague and unsatis- 
factory, take the following picture ; which, however, is a 
favorable one, as the establishment was one of the most 
liberal and hospitable of any in Virginia : 

"The master of the house, at least the gentleman who 
officiated as such, was a son-in-law of the family, who dressed 
exceedingly plain ; and who. I soon found, was a well-eciu- 
cated, lively, good-humored, sensible man ; though if I were 
to tell you, and you to tell your good lady-aunt, Kate, that he 
never drank anything but water, she would no more believe 

it than she believes in the story of Parson P 's amorous 

propensities. A stranger here is just as much at home as a 
child in its cradle. Indeed, I have heard a story of a gentle- 
man from our part of the world, who stopped here — e^t 
passant — with his wife, carriage, and servants, forgot in a 
little time that he was not at home, and stayed more than 
half a year. Nay, so far did this delusion extend, that the 
lady visitor forgot herself so completely as to find fault with 
the visits of the neighboring country squires to the hospitable 
mansion and to refuse to sit at table with them. In short, I 
am credibly informed she quarrelled with a most respectable 
old silver family teapot, which still keeps its stand on the 
breakfast table, and out of which I used to drink tea with 
infinite satisfaction, — because it was not gold, such as they 
used at her father's. 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



411 



"A day's residence here convinces you that you occasion 
no restraint, consequently that you are welcome ; and, there- 
fore, you feel all the freedom of home. Whenever I see the 
servants running about the house in the hurry of preparation, 
and the furniture turned topsy-turvy on my arrival, I make 



\, 


iM 


" "■ 


' 


%^fl 


^^^B^ 


\ 


-M-'''' '*-^^^H 


^H 




■1 


^^^^^^^K' 


i; 


■ 


^^ 


■ 




^m 


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^mm 


^^ 



BENTAMIN HARRISON OF BRANDON. 



my visit very short ; because I know by my own experience 
that people never like what gives them trouble, and, however 
they be inclined to a hearty welcome, must inevitably be glad 
of my departure. Here the ladies attend as usual to their 
own amusements and employments. You are told the car- 
riage or horses are at your service, that you can fish, or hunt, 



412 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



or lounge, or read just as you please, and every one makes 
his choice. 

"The plantation is large, containing, I believe, between 
nine and ten thousand acres, and several hundred negroes 
are attached to it. Some of the females are employed in 
taking care of the children or in household occupations, 
others in the fields, while the old ones enjoy a sort of otinni 




roMB OF BENJAMIN HARRISON OK BRANDON. 

cum digiiitate at their quarters. These cjuarters consist of log 
cabins, disposed in two rows on either side a wide avenue, 
with each a little garden in which they raise vegetables. 
Whitewashed and clean, they exhibited an appearance of 
comfort which, in some measure, served to reconcile me to 
bondage. At the door of one of these, as we walked this 
way one evening, stood a little negro, with his body bent in 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



413 



a curve and his head as white as snow, leaning- on what an 
Irishman would call a shillelah. He was the patriarch of the 
tribe, and enjoyed in his old age a life of perfect ease. You 
might hear him laugh half a mile ; and he seemed to possess 
a full portion of that unreflecting gayety which, happily for his 
race, so generally falls to their portion and perhaps makes 
then"! some amends for the loss of freedom. Relying on 




MM;-R00M at BRAND! iK. 



their master for the supply of all their wants, they are in a 
sort of state of childhood, equalh' exempt with children from 
all the cares of providing support and subsistence for their 
offspring. This old man is of an unknown age, his birth 
being beyond history or tradition ; and, having once been in 
the service of Lord Dunmore, he looks down with a dignified 
contemj)t on the plebeian slaves around him. The greatest 



414 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



aristocrat in the world is one of these fellows who has be- 
longed to a great man — 1 mean with the exception of his 
master. 




THOMAS RITCHIE, EDITOR OF " RICHMOND STANDARD," FROM PORTRAIT AT BRANDON. 



" The harvest commenced while I was here, and you would 
have been astonished to see what work they made with a field 
of wheat containing, I was told, upward of five hundred acres. 
All hands turned out, and by night it was all in shocks. An 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 415 



army of locusts could not have swept it away half so soon 
had it been green. I happened to be riding through the 
helds at twelve o'clock, and saw the women coming out sing- 
ing, gallantly bonneted with large trays containing ham and 
corn bread — a food they prefer to all other. It was gratify- 
ing to see them enjoying this wholesome dinner ; for, since 
their lot seems almost beyond remedy, it was consoling to 
find it mitigated by kindness and plenty, I hope and trust 
that this practice is general ; for, though the present gene- 
ration cannot be charged with this system of slavery, they 
owe it to humanity — to the reputation of their country — they 
stand charged with an awful accountability to Him who created 
this difference of complexion — to mitigate its evils as far as 
possible. 

"I left this most respectable and hospitable mansion after 
staying about a week, at the end of which 1 began to be able 
to account for the delusion of the gentleman and lady I told 
you about in the first part of this letter. I began to feel 
myself mightily at home, and, as the Virginians say, felt a 
heap of regret at bidding the excellent lady and her family 
good-bye. She has two little daughters not grown up, who 
are receiving that sort of domestic education at home which 
is very common in Virginia, They perhaps will not dance 
better than becomes a modest lady, as some ladies do ; nor 
run their fingers so fast over a piano ; nor wear such short 
petticoats as our town-bred misses ; they will probably make 
amends for these deficiencies by the chaste simplicity of their 
manners ; the superior cultivation of their minds ; and the 
unadulterated purity of their hearts. They will, to sum up 
in one word, make better wives for it, Frank ; and the only 
character in which a really valuable woman can ever shine. 
The oldest was a fair blue-eyed lassie who, I prophesy, will 
one day be the belle of Virginia." 



4i6 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



Benjamin Harrison, the first of the name in Virginia, died 
between 1645 '^"^^ 9 October, 1649, and was buried at the 
old church at James City, where his tombstone remained 
until recent years. Although he acquired large landed pos- 
sessions, yet the famous old places which have so long been 
identified with the name appear not to have been included 
in the broad acres which he patented. Mr. Keith says : 
" Berkeley and Brandon, the celebrated seats of the family 
on the James River, were acquired by later generations : 
Brandon, as far as I can tell, by the emigrant's son ; Berk- 




OI.D TOMBS AT BRANDON. 



eley, by the first Harrison, styled 'of Berkeley.' who may 
have inherited it through the maternal line. The operation 
of a mill probably made the emigrant's son a richer man than 
if he had been a mere planter. Benjamin of Berkeley was 
rich independently of his father, in whose lifetime he died, 
possessor of large tracts of land." \-''' 

The first Benjamin Harrison had, by Mary his wife, who 
married, secondly, Benjamin vSudway : Benjamin of Bran- 
don and Peter Harrison, who died without children before 
1687-88. 

Benjamin Harrison the Second of Surry was born 20 Sep- 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



417 



tember, 1645. became a successful planter, and soon added 
larg-ely to his already extensive estate. Like other Virginia 
planters, he turned his attention principally to the cultivation 
of tobacco, and many hogsheads of the weed were yearly 
shipped abroad from Brandon wharf. So extensive did his 
dealings in this staple become that we read of his shipping, 
in 1697, an entire cargo of it to Scotland, where it arrived 
safely after considerable excise complications. 




DRA\VINr.-ki 



'M Al lik.Wli 



'Ih i\\ 1N(, ['DK I k Al 1: 



'1 COL. AND EVELYN BYRD. 



In 1699 he became a member of the Council, continuing 
in that position until his death, which occurred y^) January. 
1 7 12. He was buried at Cabin Point, Surry, in a burial- 
ground which was probabl)' in some way attached to the old 
Brandon church. The inscription uj)()n his tomb reads thus : 



4i8 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



Here lyeth 

the body of the 

Hon. Benjamin Harrison, Esq. 

Who did Justice, loved Mercy, and \vall:ed humbly with his God; 

was always loyal to his Prince ; 

and a great benefactor to his Country. 

He was born in this Parish the 20th day of 

September, 1645, and departed this 

life the 30th day of January, 1 712-13. 

His wife was called Hannah, and some have thoiioht that her 




AND ANCIENT COMMUNIOX 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 419 



surname was -Churchill, which agrees with a tradition in the 
family ; whilst others have suggested that she also was a 
Harrison, and probably the daughter of Thomas Harrison 




MISS RANDOLPH OF WILTON, FIRST WIFE OF BENJAMIN HARRISON OF URANDON. 

the regicide, thus accounting for the claim that the family 
descend from him. The children of the Councillor were : 
Sarah, died 5 May, 1713, wife of Rev. James Blair, U. D., 



420 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



minister of Jamestown Parish ; Benjamin Harrison, ancestor 
to the Presidents, born about 1673, whose tomb remains 
at Westover ; Nathaniel ; and Hannah, who married Phihp 
Sudweh. 

Colonel Nathaniel Harrison, above named, was of Wake- 
field, Surry, and the owner of Brandon. His tombstone, 
which was lately found on the north side of James River 




MANTEL IN 1 )lNJNC;-K(>OM AT BRANDON. 

Road, near Sunken Meadow, Surry County. Va., bears the 
following inscription : " Here lieth the body of the Hon. 
Nathaniel Harrison, Esq., son of the Hon. Benjamin Har- 
rison, Esq. He was born in this parish the 8th day of 
August, 1677, departed this life the 30th day of November, 
1727." He was appointed to the Council to succeed his 
father, having been Burgess in 1706. In 17 13 he received a 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



431 



commission of Naval Officer of the Lower James, and was 
County Lieutenant of Surry and Prince George 1715, and 
subsequently Auditor General. Colonel Harrison married 
Mary Young, nee Cary, presumed to have been daughter of 
John Cary, a merchant of London, by his wife, Jane, daughter 
of John Flood of Surry County, V'a. This couple had seven 




PARLOR MANTKL, BRANDUN. 



children, the eldest being Colonel Nathaniel Harrison of 
Brandon, who was probably the builder of the present man- 
sion or at least of the older portions of it, and who was, like 
his ancestors, a member of the Council of Virorinia, and was 
appointed to State Council on the resignation of his son in 
1776. He married, first, 23 August, 1739, Mary, daughter 
of Colonel Cole Digges ; and secondly, Lucy, widow of 



422 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



Henry Fitzhugh and youngest daughter of Robert Carter 
of Corotoman. (See Carter Family.) 

By his first wife Colonel Harrison had issue ; Nathaniel, 
died an infant 1740; Digges, died an infant 1741 ; Benjamin 
of Brandon; Elizabeth, born 30 July, 1737, married Major 
John Fitzhugh. 



^^^■RM^H 


M 


%■-' ; ■ >^. J 




iBill'" ->i-ir "^ m #r^HII^^Hill 


H|^^^^^^S^\'^y,,7w 


I|*J^^^^ "■' '/ — ^"^^ct^MI 


H^^l 








^ya^H 






SroiiM5 









KRANDON, SOUTH FRONT. 



The portrait of Benjamin Harrison, the son of Colonel 
Nathaniel, yet hangs upon the walls of the drawing-room at 
Brandon. It is now cloudy with age, but shows a thin, 
kindly, intelligent face, having rather a sad expression and a 
touch of melancholy in the deep-set and dark eyes. He 
appears to be dressed in black, and a light court sword hangs 
at his side. He was twice married, and the portraits of both 
of his wives hano- in the same room. The first was Anne, 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



423 



daughter of William Randolph of Wilton, who died child- 
less ; and the second the beautiful Evelyn Taylor, daughter 
of Colonel William Byrd of Westover, by whom he had : 
George Evelyn of Lower Brandon, born 1797 ; died 19 June, 
1839 ; he was a member of the House of Delegates from 
Prince George County 1825 ; married, 1828, Isabella H., 
dauo^hter of Thomas Ritchie of Richmond, editor of the RicJi- 




UPPER liRANDON. 



iiiond Standard ; William l^)'rd of Upper Brandon ; Anne, 
married Richard E. Byrd of Winchester ; Elizabeth, married 
Alfred H. Powell of Winchester ; and a daughter who mar- 
ried one Walker, and was mother of Governor William E. 
Walker. 

Referring to the family arms, a recent biographer of the 
family says regarding a probability that the emigrant came 



r 



424 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 



from the Harrisons of Northamptonshire : "It would be gra- 
tuitous to assume that Benjamin, mentioned in the visitation, 
had a son of the same name who was the emigrant to \^ir- 
ginia. The coat-of-arms was never claimed by the Virginia 
family. However, there is little argument to be made from 
coats-of-arms when they first appear in the family several 
generations after the emigrant, as seems to have been the 




GK.NKKAI, HARRISON S TOMli AT \V I- S I'l i\KR. 



case with the Vlroinia Harrisons ; who, moreover, at different 
times have used different ones. There is none on the tomb 
of the emigrant's son, and the arms on the tomb of the 
grandson, Benjamin of Berkeley, are those of the Burwell 
family. On the tombstone of Mrs. Mary (Digges) Harrison, 
who died in i 744, and was the wife of the emigrant's great- 
grandson, is impaled gules, two bars sable between six 
estoiles placed three, two, and one ; which, with the difference 



BRANDON ON THE LOWER JAMES. 425 

of azure instead of gules, are those of the Harrisons who for 
some time past have been seated at Copford Hall, near Col- 
chester, Essex." 

There may be added to the above the fact that the old 
silver at Brandon, which trom the hall marks appears to be 
at least two centuries old, bears the Harrison crest: 'a demi- 
lion, rampant, supporting a wreath.' 

During the Revolution, Brandon was the seat of consider- 
able military operations, and the British troops, under com- 
mand of General Phillips, actually landed from the fleet 
before the house, and proceeded to the Appomattox ; La 
Fayette following on the north side of the stream. 

During the Civil War the place was the scene of much 
activity, and the Northern bullet-marks are still shown in the 
doorway. 

The writer visited Brandon in June, 1S96, and was most 
hospitably entertained by Mrs. Harrison, Miss Ritchie, and 
others of the family. Major Mann Page being ill at the time ; 
and it is only necessary^ to visit the place to fully understand 
Mr. Paulding's description of its old-time splendor and of its 
ancient hospitalit)-, yet nobly maintained. 



THE HARRISONS OF BRANDON AND BERKELEY. 

I. (j) Benjamin Harrison, Clerk of Council of Virginia; Member of House of Burgesses 

1642. He married Mary, afterward wife of Benjamin Sidway. 

II. Children of Benja/iiin Harrison and Mary, his tvife : 

2. Benjamin, b. 20 Sept., 1645; m. Hannah . 

3. Peter. 

II. (2) Benjamin Harrison, first son of Benjamin and Mary; born in Southwark Parish, 

Surry Co., Va., 20 Sept., 1645; sent to England as a Commissioner from the Colony 
against Commissary Blair; member of the Council of the Province from 1699; died 30 

Jan., 1712-13. He married Hannah , who was born Feb. 13, 1651 ; died Feb. 

16, 1698-99. 

III. Childre)i of Benjamin Harrison and Hannah, his wife : 

4. Sarah, b. 14 Aug., 1670 ; m. Rev. James Blair, D. D., minister of Jamestown 

Parish ; Commissary of the Bishop of London for Virginia ; and President of 
William and Mary College. 
----" 5- Benjamin, b. circa 1673.- 

6. Nathaniel, b. 8 Aug., '1677. 

7. Hannah, b. 15 Dec, 1678 ; m. Philip Ludwell, son of Gov. Ludwell of Carolina. 
/ 8. Henry, b. circa 1693 ; m., but d. s. p. 

Un. (5) Benjamin Harrison of Berkeley, Charles City Co , Va., son of Benjanjin and 
Hannah; Attorney-gerieral and Treasurer; Speaker of House of Burgesses. He early 
in life commenced a history of Virginia; died 10. April, 1710, aged 37 years. He mar- 
ried Elizabeth, daughter of Lewis Burwell of Gloucester Co., Va., who died 1734. 

IV. Children of Benjamin Harrison and Elizabeth, his unfe: 

9. Benjamin Harrison of Berkeley, High Sheriff; member of the House of Bur- 
gesses of Va. ; d. ,1744; m., circa 1722, Anne, daughter of Robert Carter 
(" King Carter " ) of Cbrotoman, I.ancaster Co., Va. (See Carters of Virginia.) 

V. Children of Benjamin Harrison and Anne, his zvife : 

ID. Anne, m. William Randolph of Wilton, and had : Peter; Peyton, m. Lucy, dau. 
of Benjamin Harrison the Signer ; i(Anne, m. Benjamin Harrison of Brandon ; 
Elizabeth, m. Philip Grymes ; Lucy," m. Lewis Burwell. 

11. Elizabeth, m. Peyton Randolph, President of the first Continental Congress, 

but d. s. p. 

12. Benjamin, b. 1726; Signer of the Declaration of Independence. (See a future 

page for descendants.) ^ 

426 



il 



THE HARRISONS OF BRANDON AND BERKELEY. 427 



13. Carter Henry, b. after 1726; m. Susanna, dau. of Isham Randolph; issue. 

(See Keith's Ajiccstry of Benjamin Harrison.) 

14. Henry, d. s. p. 

15. Charles, d. 1796 ; m. Mary Claiborne. 

16. Nathaniel, m. and had issue. 

17. Henry, had issue. 

18. Robert of Charles City Co., d. before 1771 ; left issue. 

HI. (6) Nathaniel Harrison of Brandon, second son of Benjamin and Hannah; born 
8 Aug., 1677; died 30 Nov., 1727. He married Mary, daughter of John Cary, mer- 
chant of London, by Jane, his wife, daughter of John Flood of Surry Co.. \'a. 

IV. Children of Nathaniel Harrison and Mary, his -coife : 

19. Nathaniel, m., ist, 1738, Mary Digges ; 2dly, Lucy Fitz Hugh, widow, dau. of 

Robert Carter of Corotoman. 

20. Benjamin of Wakefield, d. 1758; m., 23 Aug., 1739, Susanna, dau. of Cole 

Digges. 

21. Hannah, m. Armistead Churchill.— 

22. Elizabeth, m., before 1733, John Cargill of Surry Co. 

23. Sarah, m., before 1733, James Bradby of Surry Co. 

24. Anne, m., 9 Aug., 1739, Edward Digges, brother of her brother Nathaniel's 

first wife. 

25. Mary, m. James Gordon. 

IV. (19) Nathaniel Harrison, eldest son of Nathaniel of Brandon and Mary Cary, his 
wife; married, 1st, 1737, Mary Digges; 2dly, Lucy Carter. 

V. Children of JVafhaniel Ha}-rison and Mary Digges : 

26. Nathaniel, b. 27 May, 1739; d. 23 June, 1740. 
27- Digges, b. 22 Oct., 1741 ; d. 12 Nov., 1741. 

28. Benjamin of Brandon, m. Evelyn Byrd. 

IV. (20) Benjamin Harrison, second son of Nathaniel and Mary Harrison of Brandon, 
called "of Wakefield;" died 1758; married, 23 Aug., 1739, Susanna, daughter of 
Cole Digges. 

V. Children of Benjamin Harrison and .Susanna, his loife : 

29. Elizabeth, b. 6 Nov., 1740; d. 8 Sept., 174S. 

30. Mary, b. 22 Oct., 1742; d. 2 Sept., 1747. 

31. Nathaniel of Wakefield, b. 24 Aug., 1744. 

32. Susanna, b. i .Sept., 1745; m. Capt. Robert Walker of Charles City. 
2,2,- Benjamin, b. 23 Aug., 1747; d. II June, 1757. 

34. Hannah, b. i Sept., 1749. 

35. Elizabeth Digges, b. 24 Aug., 1751 ; d. 8 Nov., 1751. 

36. Peter Cole, b. il Feb., 1753; >"•' 20 Feb., 1755, Margaret, dau. of Dr. John 

Hay of Sussex, and had: Susan, b. 16 Dec, 1775. 

37. I.udwell, 1). 31 Dec, 1754; m., 16 Jan., 1773, William Gooseley of New Vork ; 

ancestress to the McCaw family of Richmond. 



428 THE HARRISONS OF BRANDON AND BERKELEY. 



V. (28) Benjamin Harrison of Brandon on the Lower James River, Va., son of Nathaniel 

and Mary; member of the State Council 1776, and of the House of Delegates from 1777. 
He married, ist, Anne, daughter of William Randolph of Wilton, by whom he had no 
children ; 2dly, Evelyn Taylor, daughter of Col. William Byrd of Westover. 

VI. Children of Benjamin Harrison and Evelyn Taylor [By7-d), his second wife : 

38. George Evelyn of Lower Brandon, b. 1797; d. 19 June, 1839; m., 1828, Isa- 

bella H., dau. of Thomas Ritchie of Richmond, and had : George Evelyn 
and Isabella. 

39. William Byrd of Upper Brandon, m., 1st, Mary, dau. of Randolph Harrison of 

Clifton ; 2dly, Ellen Wayles, dau. of Col. Thomas Jefferson Randolph. 

40. Anne, m., 1826, Richard E. Byrd of Winchester. 

41. Elizabeth, b. 1804; d. 24 Nov., 1836; m. Alfred H. Powell of Winchester. 

42. , dau. ; m. Walker ; grandmother of ex-Gov. William E. Cameron. 

VI. (39) William Byrd Harrison of Upper Brandon, second son of Benjamin and Evelyn 
Taylor. He married, Ist, Mary Harrison; 2dly, Ellen Wayles Randolph. 

VII. Children of JVilliain Byrd Harrison and Mary, his ist wife : 

43. Randolph " of Ampthill," colonel Confederate States army ; lost a leg in action ; 

m. Harriet Hileman. 

44. Benjamin of "The Rowe,"' Charles City; Captain of Charles City Troop, 

C. S. A.; killed in action in front of Richmond, July, 1862; m. Mary K., 
dau. of Nelson Page, and had : William Byrd, Benjamin, and Lucia (- ary, 
who m. Edmund R. Cocke "of Oakland." 

45. Shirley of Upper Brandon, Captain C. S. A. 

46. Dr. George of Washington, Captain C. S. A. ; m. Jenny, dau. of Dr. Robert Stone. 
VII. Children of IVilliam Byrd Harrison and Ellett Wayles [Randolph), his 2d -wife : 

47. Jane Nicholas. 

48. Jefferson Randolph. 

V. (12) Benjamin Harrison, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, eldest son of 
Benjamin Harrison of Berkeley and .\nne, his wife; born 1726; died 1 791. He was 
Burgess for Charles City 1750-75; ^Member of Committee of Correspondence 1774; of 
the County Committee of Safety 1774-76 ; of Congress 1774-75 ; re-elected four terms; 
Governor 1781 ; Speaker of House of Delegates, etc. He married Elizabeth, daughter 
of Col. William Bassett "of Eltham," New Kent, Md. 

VI. Children of Benjamin Har7-ison and Elizabeth, his wife : 

4g. Benjamin of Berkeley, m., 1st. Anna Mercer; 2dly, Susanna Randolph. 

50. William Henry, b. 9 Feb., 1773; d. 14 April, 1841; President of the United 

States; m. Anna Syrnes ; grandfather of ex-President Harrison. 

51. Anne, m. David Copeland. 

52. Lucy, m., 1st, Peyton Randolph of Wilton; 2dly, Capt. Anthony Singleton, 

Captain of Artillery in the Revolution. 

53. Carter Bassett, m. Allen. 

54. Sarah, m. John Minge "of Weyaiioke." 

55. Elizabeth, m. Dr. Richardson of England. 



THE HARRISONS OF BRANDON AND BERKELEY. 429 



VI. (49) Benjamin Harrison, eldest son of Benjamin and Elizabeth. He married, ist, 
Anna Mercer, by whom he had no issue ; 2dly, Susanna Randolph. 

VH. Children of Benjamin Hdrrison and Susanna, /lis wi/e : 

56. Benjamin of Berkeley, b. 1787; m., ist, Lucy, dau. of Judge William Nelson; 

2dly, Mary, dau. of John Page of Pagebrook. By his ist wife he had: (i) 
Lucy; (2) Mercer; (3) Mary, m. Rev. William McGuire. By his 2d wife 
he had: (4) Evelyn; {5) Maria; (6) Dr. Benjamin, who, by Matthewella, 
dau. of Matthew Page, had: Benjamin and Mary; (7) Henry, m. Fanny, 
dau. of George IL Burwell of Carter Hall, and had : Henry H., m. Margaret, 
dau. of Dr. William Byrd Page of Phila., George, Maria, and Agnes. 

VL (53) Carier Bassett Harrison, second son of Benjamin and Elizabeth. He married 

Allen. 

VH. Children of Carter Bassett Harrison and wife : 

57. Wilham Allen, m.. 1st, Anna Harrison, dau. of Richard Coupland ; 2dly, 

Martha Cocke. 

58. Benjamin C, m. Eliza C. Minge. 

59. Anna Carter, ni. Richard Adams of Richmond. 



i 



THE RANDOLPHS. 



Pocahontas. 

From an Old Portrait. 



THE RANDOLPHS. 



Thomas Jefferson once said that the ancestry of the 
Randolphs could be traced far back in England and Scotland. 
Whatever knowledo-e he 

■ o 

may have had of such 
a descent, however, has 
not been preserved to 
the present time, "but 
there seems," writes a 
genealogist, "no reason 
to doubt the statement 
that William Randolph 
the immigrant was a 
nephew of Thomas Ran- 
dolph the poet." This 
statement first appeared 
in print in the year 1737 
in the Vii'ginia Gazette, 

in a lengthy obituary of Randolph arms, from a seal used by WILLIAM 
Sir John Randolph, writ- Randolph the immigrant. 

ten while sons of the 

first William were still living, and the pedigree preserved 
by the Virginia family agrees with the account given by the 
poet's biographers. 

The following genealogy of the family is given in a recent 
publication : Robert Randolph married Rosa Roberts, and 
had : William of Harris, near Lewes, Sussex ; married Eliza- 
28 433 




434 THE RANDOLPHS. 



beth, daughter of Thomas Smith of Newnham, Northampton- 
shire, and had: i, Thomas, the poet and dramatist, born at 
Newnham. June 15, 1605 ; Fellow of Trinity College, Cam- 
bridge ; died March, 1634. 2. Robert, B. A. of Christ 
Church, Oxford ; Vicar of Barnsley, and afterward of Down- 
ington, Lincolnshire; published his brother's poems 1640; 
died at Downington, July 7, 1671. 3. William, by his fourth 
wife, Dorothy, daughter of Richard Law, had : William, the 
Virginia settler. In 1698 this William Randolph used a 
seal bearing the following arms : Gules, upon a cross or, five 
mullets orules. The document with this seal, bearing also 
his signature, remains at Henrico Court-house. There was 
a Henry Randolph in Henrico County at the same time as 
William, but the relationship existing between them, if any, 
has not been established. 

According to Moncure D. Conway, William Randolph the 
immigrant was a son of Richard Randolph of Morton-Morell, 
in Warwickshire, England, who was a half-brother of the poet 
Thomas Randolph, and Henry Randolph of Henrico County 
was his uncle and came to Virginia in 1743. '' ' ' 

Colonel William Randolph was the first of the family in 
Virginia, and is said to have been born in Yorkshire, Eng- 
land, in or about the year 1651, but removed to Warwick- 
shire, coming from the latter place to the Old Dominion 
about 1674.''' 

He settled on Turkey Island Plantation, on the James 
River, Henrico County, where he died 11 April, 171 1. 

* Mr. William Randolph bought at, one time the whole of Sir Thomas Dale's settle- 
ment, amounting to five thousand acres of land, and as much more of other persons, reach- 
ing down to Fom- Mile Creek, on the James River. The two settlements of Varina and 
Curls, so long the property and abodes of the Randolphs, were on this estate. The lands 
of Bacon, the rebel, once formed a part of this tract, and there are still some remains of the 
fort which he erected when contending with the Indians. The estate called Varina, which 
continued longest in possession of the Randolphs, was so called from a place of that name 
in Spain, because the tobacco raised at both places was similar in flavor. 



THE RANDOLPHS. 



437 



Colonel Randolph was exceedingly prominent among 
the Colonists, and became a member of the House of Bur- 
gesses, and subsequently of the King's Council, of the 
Colony. 

He married, about the year 1680, Mary, daughter of Col- 




THE RANDOLPH GRAVEYARD. 



onel Henry Isham of Bermuda Hundred, on the James River, 
by Catherine, his wife, whose maiden name is unknown. 

The tomb of Colonel William Randolph at Turkey Island 
Plantation bears the following inscription : 



" Col. Wm. Randolph of Warwickshire, but late of 

Virginia, Gent., died April nth 171 1. 

Mrs. Mary Randolph his only wife. She was the daughter 

of Mr. Henry Isham, by Catherine his wife. He was of 

Northampton.shire, but late of Virginia, (}ent." 



43^ 



THE RANDOLPHS. 



The children of Colonel William Randolph, in the order 
arranged by John Randolph of Roanoke, who was himself an 
enthusiastic antiquary, were nine in number. 

William, the eldest, called "Councillor Randolph," was 
born at Turkey Island 1681, and lived there during the term 
of his life, marrying, about 1705, Elizabeth Beverley. 




STAIRCASE, TUCKAHOE. 



The ancient brick house, which for a long time was left 
standing as a remnant of the first Turkey Island mansion, 
has finally entirely disappeared. 

The name of Turkey Island, it may be remarked here, 
was derived from an island which was formerly in the James 
River at Turkey Bend, a point a few miles above the mouth 
of the Appomattox, not far from Shirley, and so called 
because of the number of wild turkeys which frequented it 



THE RANDOLPHS. 439 



in the early days of the settlement, and afforded a convenient 
and happy hunting-ground for the nearby planters. The 
island long since disappeared, washed away, probably, by 
some great flood, but the name continued and is in present 
use. 

The first Turkey Island Plantation afterward came to be 
the home of General Pickett, the gallant Confederate officer 
whose name will ever be famous because of the wonderful 
charge of his division on the field of Gettysburg. 

"The Honourable William Randolph, Esqr.," as the old 
records designate him, was a very considerable person indeed 
in his day on the grand old James River. He married, at 
the age of twenty-five years, Elizabeth, daughter of Peter 
Beverley of Gloucester County, Virginia, by Elizabeth, his 
wife, daughter unto Robert Peyton, descended from an 
ancient and honorable family of that name in Norfolk, 
England. 

The tomb of W illiam Randolph II. bears the following 
eulogy : 

"Here lies the Honourable William Randolph Esqr. 
Oldest son of Colonel William Randolph of this place, and of Mary his 
wife, who was of the ancient and estimable family of Ishams of North- 
amptonshire : having been easily introduced into business, and passed 
through inferior Offices of (lovernment, with great reputation and emi- 
nent capacity. He was at last, by his majesty's happy choice and the 
universal approbation of his country, advanced to the Council. His 
experience in men and business, the native gravity of his person and 
behavior, his attachment to the interests of his country, knowledge of 
the laws in general and of the laws and constitution of his country in 
particular, his integrity above all calumny or suspicion, the acuteness 
of his parts and the extensiveness of his genius together with the solidity 
of sense and judgment in all he said or did, rendered him not only equal 
but an ornament to the high office he bore, and have made him univer- 
sally lamented as a most able and impartial Judge and as an upright and 
useful magistrate in all other respects. Neither was he less conspicuous 



440 THE RANDOLPHS. 



for a certain majestic' plainness of sense and honour which carried 
through all parts of private life with an equal dignity of repatation ; 
and deseri-edly obtained him the character of the jiust good man in all 
the several duties and relations of life — Natus November, i6Si, Moitnis 
Oct. 19th, 1 741. Anno x£tatis 61." 

Councillor Randolph had five children, and die eldest; 
Beverley, inherited the Turkey Island Plantation, but left no 
children to succeed him. The second Peter Randelf^ in- 
herited the fine plantation called Chatsworth, a few miles 
farther up the James River, and there made his home. He 
w-as ifather to Beverley Randolph, who in 17S8 succeeded 
Edmund Randolph, his cousin, as Governor of Virginia. 

The portrait of Peter Randolph of Chatsworth hang^ in 
the fine old hall of Shirley, beside that of his wife, Luc}^ 
Boiling, daughter of Robert BoUing. whom he married in the 
year 1735. 

Lucy Boiling's mother was Jane Rolfe. daughter of Thomas 
Rolfe. son of John Rolfe and Pocahontas, daughter of the 
Indian king Powhatan. 

William Randolph, the third son of the Councillor, bom 
about 1 7 10, removed to Wilton. Henrico County, and mar- 
ried a Harrison of Berkeley. 

A glance at the genealogical charts accompanving this 
article will show a number of distinguished persons sprung 
from this line and from the two dausfhters. 

The second son of old Colonel William Randolph was 
Thomas Randolph, who was bom about 16S3 at Turkey 
Island, and afterward removed to Tuckahoe, of which place 
he is alwa\-s described, a plantation near to his father s home, 
but in Goochland Countj-. 

Speaking of this fine old Virginia home. Anbuoy*. in his 
Trazels. sa\-s : 'Richmond, in Virginia. Feb. iSth, 1779. I 
spent a few da\-s at Colonel Randolph's, at Tuckahoe, at 



THE RANDOLPHS. 



443 



whose house the usual hospitality of the countr)' prevailed ; 
it is built on a rising ground, having a most beautiful and 
commanding prospect of James River ; on one side is Tuck- 
ahoe, which being the Indian name of that creek, he named 
his plantation Tuckahoe after it ; his house seems to be built 
solely to answer the purposes of hospitalit}', which, being con- 




LIBKARY, TUCKAHOE. 



structed in a different manner than in most other countries, I 
shall describe it to you : It is in the form of an H. and has 
the appearance of two houses joined by a large saloon ; each 
winor has two stories, and four larcre rooms on a tioor ; in one 
the family reside, and the other is reserved solely for visitors : 
the saloon that unites them is of a considerable magnitude, 
and on each side are doors ; the ceiling is lotty, and to these 
they principally retire in the summer, being but little incom- 



444 THE RANDOLPHS. 



moded by the sun. and by the doors of each of the houses 
and those of the saloon being open, there is a constant circu- 
lation of air ; they are furnished with four sophas. two on 
each side, besides chairs, and in the centre there is generally 
a chandelier ; these saloons answer the two purposes of a 
cool retreat from the scorching and sultry heat of the climate, 
and oi an occasional ball-room. The outhouses are detached 
at some distance, that the house may be open to the air at 
all sides." 

The present mansion of Tuckahoe is not greatly different 
from the one above described, and it is doubtful if any con- 
siderable changes have been made in it. either inside or out, 
since the beginning of the present centur\-. 

The building is partly of brick and partly of frame, and 
the outlook, wild in the extreme in Colonial days, is yet 
charming. 

Within the house are many fine examples of interior deco- 
rations in the first half of the eighteenth centurv". the carvings 
in relief on the balustrade being especially notable, whilst 
several of the fireplaces, although simple in design, are fine 
types of the art of that period. It is generally conceded 
that Tuckahoe was built by Thomas Randolph after his mar- 
riage with Judith Churchill, which ceremony appears to have 
taken place about the year 1710 : but some are of the opinion 
that the place was commenced by him and finished by his son 
William or his grandson Colonel Thomas Mann Randolph. 

Thomas Randolph had, by Judith his wife, three children : 
William, Judith, and Mar>-. the latter of whom became the 
wife of William Keith, a kinsman of Sir William Keith, some- 
time governor of Pennsylvania ; Chief Justice John Marshall 
ot the I'nited States was descended from this couple. 

William Randolph of Tuckahoe married Maria Judith. 
daughter of Mann Page of Rosewell. and had by her four 



^ 



^ 



Anice Stockton. 

From Portrait by Copley. 




Li:rY HOI.I.ING, WIl'K OV TK 1 K.R KANIIOLI'II OF CH A ISWORTH. 



THE RAXDOLPHS. 



447 



children, three of them beingr daughters, two of whom made 

orQod matches, and of the third nothing is known, and one 
son, Thomas Mann Randolph, called Colonel Randolph of 
Tiickahoe. at which place he was born in 1741. He married, 




OLL» st^Kv^LHoUsfc WHICH TKt KANDi.>i.l-K=> ANL> jtKFfcKsoNS ATTENDED. 

first. Anne, eldest daughter of Colonel Archibald Car\- of 
Ampthill, Virginia. She bore him thirteen children, and 
after her death he espoused Gabriella Harvey and had 
one son. 



44^ THE RAXDOLPHS. 



Probably the most distinq;iiished of the children of Colonel 
Randolph of Tuckahoe was Thomas Mann Randolph, jr.. who 
became governor of Mrghiia and married IMartha. daughter 
of Thomas Jefferson. President of the I'nited States. The 
Jeflerson and Randolph families had long been close friends, 
and the old school-house where Thomas Jefferson and the 





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MANTEL AT TlCKAHOt. 



Randolph boys attended school is still standing. At this 
time it was the custom in Mrginia to send several boys from 
various distant plantations to board with the family residing 
nearest to the school-house, which was often erected because 
the planter upon whose land it was happened to be possessor 
ot an indentured schoolmaster of some abilit}-. who he had 
probably purchased at a risk, according to the fashion of that 
time. 



THE RANDOLPHS. 



449 



It was Col. Thomas Mann Randolph I. who is mentioned 
by Anburry whilst describing Tuckahoe, and he refers to him 
again in the following quotation : " PVom my observations 
and remarks in my late journey it appears to me that before 
the war the spirit of equality or levelling principle was not so 
prevalent in Virginia as in the other provinces, and that the 
different classes of people in the former supported greater 




IIAI.I. OF TUCKAHOE 



distinction than those of the latter ; but since the war that 
principle seems to have gained greater ground in Virginia ; 
an instance of it I saw at Colonel Randolph's at Tuckahoe, 
where three country peasants, who came upon business, 
entered the room where the colonel and his company were 
sittincr, took themselves chairs, drew near the fire, beran spit- 
ting, pulling off their country boots all over mud, and then 

29 



45 O THE RANDOLPHS. 

opened their business, which was simply about some Conti- 
nental tlour to be ground at the colonel's mill : when they 
were gone some one observed what great liberties they took ; 
he (Colonel Randolph) replied it was unavoidable : the spirit 
oi independency was converted into equality, and ever}- one 
who bore arms esteemed himself upon a tooting with his 
neiq'hbor, and concluded with saying. ' No doubt, each of 
these men conceives himself in every respect my equal.' 

"There were, and still are. three degrees of ranks among 
the inhabitants, exclusive of negroes ; but I am at raid the ad- 
vantao^es of distinction will never exist again in this country 
in the same manner as it did before the commencen" ..nt ot 
hostilities. The tirst class consists of gentlemen oi the best 
families and fortunes, which are more respectable and numer- 
ous here than in any other province ; for the most part they 
had liberal educations, possess a thorough knowledge of the 
world, with great ease and freedom in their nianners and con- 
versation ; many of them keep their carriages, have handsome 
services of plate, and. without exception, keep their studs, as 
well as sets of handsome carriage horses. 

"The second class consists of such a strange mixture ot 
characters and of such various descriptions of occupations, 
being nearly half the inhabitants, that it is difficult to ascer- 
tain their exact criterion and leading feature." 

The third son of Colonel William Randolph, the .first set- 
tler in \'irginia. was Colonel Isham Randolph, who was born 
at Turkev Island in the year 1684. and went to Dungeness. 
Goochland County, having married in England. 171;, Jane 
Rogers of London. 

Here is a cop\' oi the inscription on the tomb ot Isham 
Randolph, who appears to have been much esteemed in \ ir- 
ginia in his day, and remembered in after-time more particu- 
larlv because of his descendants : 



THE RANDOLPHS. 45 1 



Sacred to the Memory 

of Colonel Isham Randolph 

of Dungeness in Goochland County, 

Adjutant General of the Colony. 

He was the third son of William Randolph 

and Mary his wife. 

The distinguished qualities of the 

Gentleman he possessed in an eminent degree : To justice 

probity & honour so firmly attached 

that no view of secular interest or 

worldlv advantage, no discouraging 

frowns of fortune could alter his 
Steady purpose of heart. By an easy 
Compliance and obliging deportment 
he knew no enemy but gained many 

friends : thus in life meriting an 
universal esteem. He died as uni- 
versally lamented Nov., 1742 set. 57. 
Ge ntle Reader go & do like wise. 

For a time Isham Randolph resided in London. His 
daughter, fane, was born there in 1720; she became the 
wife of Peter Jefferson of Shadwell, near the Rivanna River, 
Albemarle County, and was mother of Thomas Jefferson, 
President of the United States. 

Richard Randolph, fourth son of the first colonel, inherited 
a plantation on the James River called Curl's Neck, in Hen- 
rico County, adjoining the Turkey Island Plantation. This 
Richard is especially remembered as having built a church on 
his plantation which was sometimes called Four Mile Creek 
and sometimes Curl's Church, as it lay between these places. 

"The building of the church at Four Mile Creek, or 
Curl's, is clearly ascertained, as to the time and the erection 
of it. by an extract from a letter of the eldest Richard Ran- 
dolph of Curls, to his son Richard in 1748, in which he says : 
• Pray assist Wilkinson all you can in getting the church fin- 
ished, and eet the shells that will be wanted carted before the 



452 



THE RANDOLPHS. 



roads get bad. The joiner can inform you what shells I have 
at the Falls. If more are wanted, you must get them.' Some 
thirty or forty years ago, when this church was without Epis- 
copal services, a man claimed it, and declared his intenr i to 
take it, when a great-grandson of old Mr. Randolph, of the 
same name, repaired to the place and informed him that as 
soon as he touched it he would have him arrested. The 




BULL HILL FARM ON THE APPOMATTOX, 



desired effect was produced. It has, however, disappeared, 
and none. I believe, bearing the name of Randolph owns a rood 
of that immense tract of land on which their fathers lived," 

Richard Randolph is especially notable as having been the 
ancestor of John Randolph of Roanoke. He was born at 
Turkey Island about the year 1695. and married, 1714. Jane, 
dausfhter of John Bollintr, son of Robert Bollincr. and a 
descendant of Pocahontas in the line before Qriven. 



THE RANDOLPHS. 



453 



This couple appear to have had four children, the youngest 
of whom was John Randolph, born at Curl's Neck, 1737 ; lived 
at Cawsons, and removed to Roanoke, Charlotte County, Vir- 



^ 






JtJH.N KANlJUl.rH OF ROANOKE. 



ginia. He married, about 1769, Frances, daughter of Theo- 
dorick Bland, and was father of John Randolph of Roanoke, 
who was born at the house called Cawsons, on the Appo- 
mattox, near the James River. This place, Cawsons, and an 



454 



THE RANDOLPHS. 



adjoining brick house, now known as Bull Hill Farm, are pre- 
sumed to have been the property of Theodorick Bland, which 
will account for John Randolph, afterward of Roanoke, having 

been born there. 

Both houses stand high upon the right bluff of the Appo- 
mattox going northward, and are built on about the same 
plan, except that the house called Cawsons is of frame, whilst 




CAWSONS, SAID TO BE THE HOUSE IN WHICH JOHN RAM.ol.ln , if KOANOKK WAS I'.oRN. 



Bull Hill is of brick. A deep ravine, running at right angles 
from the river, separates them, through which a path, long 
unused, formerly served as a means of communication. 

Of all the Randolphs — and they have not been few — who 
have been distinguished in the various professions which they 
chose, none will be remembered with Randolph of Roanoke. 

John Randolph was born at Cawsons June 3d, 1773. He 
had two brothers and a sister. They were : Richard of 



THE RANDOLPHS. 455 



Bizarre, who married his cousin, Judith Randolph ; Theo- 
dorick Bland, who died young ; and Jane, of whom nodiing 

is known at present. z> 

Of the great Randolph's career as a statesman or of bril- 
liant but melancholy life it is unnecessary to speak here. His 
entry as a youth into the political arena, his meteoric fire, his 
cutting sarcasm and pitiless retaliation, his curious eccen- 
tricity, and his remorse-marked death in Philadelphia are sub- 
jects too broad for the scope of this article. 



A BRIEF GENEALOGY OF THE RANDOLPH FAMILY 

OF YIRGINL\. 

I. Colonel Wiluam Ranpoij'H ot Turkey Island, bom circa 1651 ; died 15 Afail, 171 1 ; 

married Mary, daughter of Henry Isbam. n^^ > " 

II. CiiMfrH of Ifiiitatu ^auJtii/i atiJ Maty, its rcifi; : 
I. William, b. Nov., 16S1 : m. Elizabeth Bereriey. 

^.j. ThodSas, K June, 16S3: m. Judith Churchill.- -* 
3. Isham, b. Dec.. 16S4; m. Jane Rogers. 
i^^ 4. Jvichivrd. k May, 16 S6; m. Jane Ba ling. ^ ^ 
Y^ 5. Henry, K Oct.. 1687: d. s. p. 
-:»- 6. Sir John, b. April. 16S0 ; m. Susanna Beverley. 
~. Edward, b. Oct., 1690; m. Miss Grosvenor. 
S. Mar>-. K 1602 ; m. Capt. John Stilh, and had : Rev. William Sdth. President 

of William and Mar^- College and Historian of Virginia. 
9. Elizabeth, b. 1605 ; m. Richard Bland. 

I. , I . WiuJAM Randolth of Turkey Island, eldest son of William and Mar}-, bom Nov.. 
i6Si ; died 19 Oct., 1741 ; married, circa 1705, Elizabeth, daughter of Pteter Beverley. 

III. Cki/tirem e>/ ll7fSrm fiiiMjWi^i an,/ £/i^e<:t!, its sct».- 
10. Beverley, b. circa 1 706 : m. Miss IJghtfbot ; d. s, p. 

f II. Peter, h. circa 170S: m. Lucy Eolliftg. 

I-. Wiiliam, b. circa 1710; m. Anne HaniscH). 

13. , dan.; m. Price. 

14. Elizabeth, b. circa 1725 : m. Col. John Chiswell. 

II. (a) Thomas R.\XPOtPH of Tuckahoe, second son of William and Mary, bcrn circa 

l6Sj; married. 1710. Judith Churchill. 

III. CiiVJr^tm of TiifMt>.is ^.r«.j'«vi*-i atidjmd^, kis r.v* .- 

15. William, b. 1712: m. Maria Judith Page. 

16. Judith, K 1724; m-Rev. ^MIli-im Stitb. 

17. M.«y. b. 1720; m.JXJIii^Keith. 

III. ( I5> William R.\xix^t.rH of Tuckabce. eldest son of Thomas and Judith, bora 171;: 
died 1745 : married, circa 1735, Maria Judith, dan^hter of Hor.. Mann Psge cf Rcsewell. 

IV. Cii/tirtrm iff in/Ii^m ^amaW/-* iikJ .VariaJiMiii. its ixri^- 
iS. Mary Judith, b. 1736: m. Edmund Berkeley. 

lo. MarA-. b. 173S; m. Tariton Fleming. 

20. Thomas Mann, K 1741 : m. Anne Cary. 

21. Prisctlla. 

* This genealogy is not intended to be complete heyood the male linesv and then only 
-■ tar as to be cc«nprehensive. 
4o6 



GENEALOGY OF THE KAXDOLPH FAMILY. 



IV. (20) Thomas Mann Randou'H of Tuckahoe, only son of \Yi)liam and Maria Juditii, 
born 1741 ; married, 1st. iS NoveniWr. 1701. Anne, daughter of Col. Archibald Cirx ; 
2dly, 1790, Gabriella Harvey. 

\'. Children of Thcmas .UaMH J^ana'oIpA an J .4 Hue, his {ist\ -wife: 

21. Mary, b. 9 Aug.. 1762; m. David Meade Randolph 01 iVesqu' Isle, Janes 
River, \'a. 

23. Henry Clay, b. 1763; d. infant. 

24. Elizai>eih, b. 1765 ; ni. Robert Pleasants of Kilmer. 

25. Thomas Mann, b. 1767; m. Martha Jefterson. 

26. William, b. 1769; m. Lucy liolling, and had issue: ^i1 William Fitzhugh Ran 

dolph, who m. Jane Car> . dau. of Randolph Harrison of Clifton. Cuml>erlanu 
Co., Va., and had : Beverley and William Esion Randolph oi Millw>\id, c i.xrk 
Cc, Va., of whom William m. Susan, dau. of Dr. Robert C. Randolph of 
New Market, Clark Co.. \a.. and had an only dau.. who m. George T.ibb. 
(2t Beverley Randolph, m. Miss Mayer of Philadelphia, and had: Wiliiaiu 
Mayor Randolph of St. Louis. Mo. 

27. -Archibald Cary, b. 1771 ; d. infant. 

2S. Judith, b. 1773; m. Richard Randolph of Bizarre, brother ci John Randolph 
of Roanoke. * They had one son. who d. s. p. 

29. Anne Cary. b. 1775; m. Gouverneur Morris of Morrisania, X. V.. C S. M " 

ister to France. 

30. Jane Cary. b. 1777; m. Thomas Eston Randolph of Bristol, England, and 

issue: ^i) Mann Randoh^h. Capt. U. S. Xavy. ^2) Dr. James Randolph -i 
Tallahassee, Fla.. m. Miss Heywood. ^3^) Lucy. m. Mr. Tarkhill of Jacks ;>- 
ville, Fla. (4) Harriet, m. Dr. Willis. 15) Elizabeth, m. Francis Wayles 
Eppes. (6) Dr. Arthur Randolph of Tallahassee. Fla.. m. Miss Duval. 

31. Dr. John Randolph, b. 1779; m. Judith Lewis, and had issue. 

32. George Wiishington. b. 17S1; d. infant. 

:^l. Harriet, b. 1 783; m. Richard S. H.ickley of Xew Vork. 

34. Vii^nia, b. 31 Jan., 17S6: m. Wilson Jefterson Cary. 

V. Children of Thcmas Mann Riindo/rh and Gac>rieIIa, his (^rf) 7i>ife : 

35. Thomas Mann, who m.. isi, Harriet Wilson, and had: (i) John Randolph, m. 

Margaret Timberlake oi Washington, D. C. (2) Mary, m. John Chapman if 
rhikadelphia. (3) Margaret, m. F. A. Donkins. (4) H.irriet. m. Albert -. 
White. He m., 2dly. Miss Patterson, and had : (l) Henry of Washing! 1, 
D. C. (2) A dau., who m. Mr. Howard of Baltimore. Md. 

V. (25') Thom.xs Mann Randolph iNo. i . son of Thomas Mann .ind Anne, bom at Tm - 

ahoe 1767 : he w.as of Edge Hill. .Allx-niarle Co.. Va. ; w.ns Governor of Virginia iSi ■ - 
21; and Presidenli.il Elector 1S25. He married, 1790. Martha, daughter of Thom. ^ 
Jefferson. President of the United States, and Martha Wayles, his wife. 
VL Children of Thomas Mann Jiaudohh {No. i) and Mar/ha. his wife : 

36. .\nne Car^-. b. 1 791 ; m. Charles Bankhead. 

37. Thomas Jefferson, b. 1702; m. Jane Nicholas. 
3S. Ellen, b. 1794; d. infant. 

39. Ellen Wayles, b. 1796; m. Joseph Coolidge of Boston, Mass. 



4^0 K^ENEALOGY OF .HE RAXDOLPH FAMILY. 



40. James Madison, b. 1798; d. s. p. 

41. Cornelia Jefferson, d. unm. 

42. Mary Jefferson, d. unm. 

43. Virginia, b. iSoi ; m. N. P. Trist. 

44. Denjamin Franklin, b. 1S05 ; m. Sarah Carter, and had : (l) Meriwether Lewis, 

ni. Louisa Hubard. (2) Septimia Anne, ra. Dr. David Meilcleham. 

45. Meriwether Lewis, b. 1808; m. Ehza ^Vharton ; d. s. p. 
40. Georsre Wvthe, b. 1815 ; m. Mary E. Adams. 

• I Col. Tho.m.vs Jefferson RANDoLrH, eldest son of Thomas Mann Randolph (No. 
and Martha, born 1792; died at Edge Hill 1875, and was bmied at Monticello in 
ue Jefferson gravevard. He was Presidential Elector in 1S45; President of the 
National Democratic Convention 1873: and chosen President of the Centennial Exhi- 
bition of 1876, but died prior to its opening. He married, 1S15, Jane, daughter of Gov. 
W ilson Cary Nicholas of Warren, Albemarle Co., Va. 

VII. Children of Col. Thomas Jefferson Randolph and Jane, his wife : 

47. Margaret Smith, b. 1816 ; m. William Lewis Randolph. 

48. Martha Jefferson, b. 1817; m. J. C. Randolph Taylor. 

49. Cary Anne Nicholas, b. 1820 ; m. Frank G. Ruffin. 

50. Mary Buchanan, b. 1821 : d. infant. 

51. Mary Buchanan, b. 1S23; unm. 

52. Ellen Wayles, b. 1S25; m. William B. Harri-on of Upper Brandon. 

53. Maria Jefferson, b. 1827; m. Charles Mason. 

54. Caroline Ramsay, b. 1S28; unm. 

55. Thomas Jefferson, b. 1830 ; m., 1st, Man,- Walker Meriwether, and had: (l) 

Frank Meriwether, m. Chariotte Macon. (2) Thomas Jefferson. (3) Margaret 
Douglas, d. unm. (4) Francis Nelson, d. young. (5) George Geiger. He 
m., 2dly, 1865, Charlotte N. Meriwether, and had an only dau., who d. unm. 

56. Dr. Wilson Cary Nicholas Randolph, b. 1832 : m. Mary Hollidav. and had : 

( I ) Virginia Rawlins. (2) Wilson C. N. (3) Mary Walker. (4^ Julia Minor. 

57. Jane Nicholas, b. 1S34; m. R. Garlick H. Kean. 

58. Meriwether Lewis, m. Anna Daniel ; d. s. p. 

59. Sarah N., d. unm. 

XL I 3 IsHAM RANDOLrH, third son of William and Mary, born 1690. He was of Dunge- 
aess, James River, Va., and married in London. England, 1717. Jane Rogers. 
HI. Children of Isham Randolph and Jam. his wife : 

60. Iaiu\ b. 1720; m. Peter Jefferson of Shadwell : their son was: Thom.as Jef- 

FERSON, President of the United States. 

61. Susanna, b. iJ^Qt m. Carter Henry Harrison of Clifton. 

62. Thomas Isham, b. 1745; m. Jane Cary. 

63. William, b. 1747; m. Miss Little. 

64. Mary, m. Charles Lewis. 

65. Lli/aheth, m. John Railey. 

66. Dorothy, m. John Woodson. 

67. Anne, m., ist, Daniel Scott; 2dly. Jonathan Pleasants: 3dly, James Pleasants. 



E A LOGY OF THF RANDOLPH FAMILY. 



I -HAM Randolph, eldest son of Isham and Jaoe, bom 1745 : of DuLoe- 
; r.v- rrieu, 176S, Jane, daiighter of Q)l. Archit i^.d Cary of Am]: •Jiill,'Che£^er- 

held Co.. Va-, and Mar^- Rando}p*i of Curls, his wife. 

IV. Ckildrfm of Thomas Iskctn KiinJo/j>i and Janf, his iii^e : 

6S. Archibald Cary, b. ^ijog; m. Lucy Uurwell, and had: (i) Isham. 2) Or. 
Philip Grymes. (51 Susan Grymes. (4) Mary. (5) Dr. Robert C. «6 
Lucy Burwell. 

69. Isbam. b. 1770; m. Xancy Coupland, and had: (i ]ulia. (2) Jane. "C\ 

Fannie P. (4) D. Coupland. 

70. 1 homas, m., 1st, Miss Skipwith ; 2dly, Miss Lawrence ; issue. 

71. Maiy, b. I Feb.. 1773: m. Randolph Harrison of Clifton. 

■ I 6) Sir John R.a.ndolph of Wiliiamsbuig, Va., fourth son of William and Mary, bo .11 
1693; died 15 March, 1737. He married, circa 171S. Susanna, daughter of Pe let 
Deveriey of Gloucester Co., Va. 

III. Children of Sir John J^d/iJo.'f^ anJ Susanna, his wifi: 

72. John, b. 1727? ™- Ariana Tennii^. 

73. Peyton, d. s. p. 

74. Beverley, m. Miss Wormeley. 

75. Mary. m. Hiilip Grymes. 

III. 172) John Rantolph, eldest son of Sir John and Susanna, bom 1727. of Williams 
bui^, Va. He was Attorney-General for Virginia: married Ariana. daughter oi Edmnn 
Jennings oi Annapolis, Md. 

r\'. ChiJdr-rt of John KandjJrh and Ariana, his ivife : 

76. Edmund, b. 10 Aug.. 1753; *^^^ Attorney- General of the United States. H 

died in Frederick Co.. Va.. 12 Sept.. 1S13 ; m. Elizabeth Nicholas, and hac 
( 1 1 Peyton, who m. Maria Ward, who had been engaged to John Randolr 
of Roanoke. (2) Lucy. (3) A dau. (4) A dau. 

77. Ariana, m, Ralph Wormeley. 

ri. 4) RiCH.\RD Randolph of Cnris Neck, James River. Va., fifth son of William and 
Mary, bom 1695. He married, circa 1714, Jane, daughter of John Boiling d Cobhs. 
Chesterfield Co., Va.. descended from Pocahontas. 

III. Children of Richard Kandolf'i and f am. his Tcife: 

78. Richard, b. 1715; m. Anne Meade. 

79. Mary, b. 1727; m. Col. Archibald Cary. 

80. Jane, b. 1729; ni. Anthony Walke. 

81. John, b. 1737; m. Frances, dau. of Theodoric Bland, and had : 

(1) Richard of Bizarre, b. 1770: m. Judith Randolph. 

(2) Theodoric Bland, b. 1771 : d. s. p. 1792. 

(3) John R.axdolph of Ro.axoke, b. 3 June. 1773; d.s. p. in Phil 

Pa.. 24 May, 183;. 
(4'^ Jane. 



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